


Let's Go To War

by ComicsCorner



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Novelization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-11-23 19:16:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18155948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComicsCorner/pseuds/ComicsCorner
Summary: Thanos is coming and the calls have been made. Despite what had been said and done the Avengers must put the past behind them and assemble once again to stop their biggest threat yet with new allies. Novelization of some scenes from Infinity War.





	1. Locating Mind

(Please note that I wrote this back in April of 2018 when the film came out and some scenes were written from info I had managed to piece together from trailers and tv spots. 9ther thank that enjoy!)

 

Europe

Edinburgh

The evening was calm. The chilled air made Wanda sleepy when she walked with Vision in the streets of Edinburg. The streetlights and shops lit the walkways with a heavenly illumination. It was reminding Wanda of a passage she might have read in a book. Vision seems to be holding her hand tighter than usual, perhaps preparing for anything that might suddenly Disturbed or evening but Wanda knew that they were far from harm they had been for the past 2 years. "I've never had frog legs before." He finally spoke to break the silence. Wanda shuttered at the disgusting food item that her partner had ordered at the restaurant. More and more she was thankful for the grouse she had ordered.

"Next time we'll just go out for pizza." Wanda supported Visions desire to try all types of different foods, even if some of them were more questionable than others. The pair wasn't far from their favorite sweet shop where they often liked to stop for a slice of summer fruit cake. Which Wanda accidentally got Vision hooked on. Laying low in Europe had been the plan for the past two years, there was little to no crime related problems here, they could just live their lives together.

"You're thinking about them, again aren't you?"

The truth was that thoughts of her their friends had been swarming Wanda's thoughts much more than usual. She had only seen Natasha and Paige two months ago, the thought of this much separation was at times unbearable to deal with. But they all knew that it was for their safety after all the Accords were still in effect. "Is that wrong?" She didn't know why her tone sounded harsh. "I just miss them."

"Wanda-"

"I'm fine, over it." She wasn't, but there was no use in arguing. "I have you now and that's more than enough." Scarlett noticed how her partner had been right about his algorithm concerning the idea that conflict led to catastrophe. So, both had not revealed their true natures to anyone. For the most part, it was nice, no one was demanding or expecting anything from the pair, they could just enjoy the quiet and each other.

"You are the most precious thing to me Miss Maximoff." Vision said as he cupped her small face in his hands.

 

Wanda giggled at how cold the skin felt. "I love how you-" She was cut off by the loud screams of a few nearby bystanders who seemed to be looking at something in the sky. Wanda's eyes followed their gaze to the stars above. At first what she saw wasn't able to be spotted, until she squinted her eyes to see a massive, circular structure hovering thousands of feet above the city. The ring glowed a faint orange shade as it only continued to spin and float. The single Maximoff twin didn't hesitate to run over to help the pedestrians to get off the streets.

"Wanda! "Vision called after her, but she didn't reply. Her eyes flared red when she saw a young woman cradling her children in her arms only a few feet from where the explosion had taken place. The wind was violently knocked out of her lungs when a massive figure knocked her on her back on the hard pavement. The figure was huge compared to the small witch, Wanda only laid there in terror. "Wanda!" Vision called again this time racing to her aid. Wanda's mind was racing as she used her power to propel herself back up. Her attacker was indeed tall, with blue skin and a trident styled weapon. The woman moved much like a predator, fast and agile. But Wanda had been trained by the best of the best and knew how to put that training to good use. Using her magic to block the tridents advances as best she could, moving her feet quickly, making sure she didn't stay planted in one place for very long. It was made beyond obvious that the woman was not human, but why was she attacking like this and what did she want? The attacker jumped back when Vision dispersed an energy blast from his forehead, shedding his human skin to reveal his red, robotic form again. The alien snarled at Vision viscously, her eyes pierced on him and a smile showed between her sharpened teeth. Vision dodged her advances, grabbing her weapon and tossing her into a nearby newsstand. She snarled, once again looking like a dangerous animal.

 

"Vis." Wanda protested when her partner flew her up to nearby builds rooftop.

"Stay here." He ordered. "I'll deal with this." His mind scrambled when he was tackled back into the street, not by their female assailant but by a male. His skin was a pale white almost like a corpse. His eyes were snakelike and the armor he wore resembled a sharped knife.

"Corvus!" The female hooked her vice-like grip around Visions throat. "He has it." The woman hissed at the man. "Rip it out of him!" Wanda maneuvered herself back down to the streets, not willing to stay out of the fight. Using her power to throw the female up into a nearby tree had temporarily slowed her down. Wanda lost track of Vision when the male brute tossed him across town.

"Deal with the child, Proxima! I'll retrieve what we came for."

Proxima blocked Wanda from assisting Vision, her spear angled at the throat of the young Avenger. "We're not done little one."

Corvus quickly made his way to the warehouse to finish his adjective. Vision landed so hard he was sure that he had cracked or dented some part of him. The android's eyes darted back and forth, taking in his new surroundings. His attacker had thrown him into a factory building. His mind raced back to Wanda who was all alone. "Don't fight the inevitable." Corvus cackled when he pinned Vision down, the blade of his staff pointed toward the hero's head. There's was no time to react. The warehouse was then filled with Visions painfilled screams when Corvus jammed the tip of his spear into the gemstone secured in the forehead of his target. "Such a shame." Corvus murmured. "You appeared so unique."

"They appear to all be this way." Proxima snickered, dragging Wanda behind her as she met up with her ally. "Destroy him, my love." Wanda could barely move, she had never felt so weak. Her that clenched when she felt tears in her eyes all she could do was watch.

"Hey." The alien pair looked up sharply when they heard a loud greeting come from above them. Sam Wilson was sitting up in the rafters of the building, Red Wing hovering next to him. "This isn't exactly my neighborhood, but that doesn't mean that I like you messing it up."

Corvus turned to his wife. "Kill him." Sam fell back from the rafters to avoid Proxima's spear. Deploying his wings, he fired on the targets to separate them from Vision. Corvus collided with Sam who flew past him to grab Wanda and fly her away from the conflict. Proxima roared in frustration, turning to see another figure, hiding in the shadows. Wanda couldn't believe that she saw Steve emerge from the darkness and step into the light. The soldier caught the trident with ease when it was hurled at him only moments later. Not second guessing anything the soldier threw the trident over its warrior owner before he lunged at her.

"You always get me nice things." Natasha smiled up at Cap, thanking him for the trident before running toward the female attacker.

 

"Only the best for you." Cap replied as he blocked Corvus. The spy dropped to her knees and slid past Corvus to strike his leg with the trident she held. She then turned on her knee back to him to stab his torso with the blades. Natasha grunted as she tried to pull the trident away but Crovus's grip secured it in place. Spinning up on the staff Natasha hopped her leg up on Corvus's thigh and kicked him back with the momentum of her other foot, knocking him to the ground. Surprise covered the spy when the trident was lifted from her hands and back to its owner who tried to slash her down. The Nat smiled when Rogers appeared, racing into shielding his partner from Proxima who seemed shocked that a male of such a lesser species was able to hold her back the way he did. From then on it was the three of them. Cap and Widow working as they always did together. It was like a dance they had studied for years and had only gotten better to the point that it was now second nature. The two kept Proxima busy until Sam flew in to knock her back over to her injured ally, his guns locked on the two of them.

"Get up." Proxima almost sounded concerned when she spoke to Corvus.

"I can't." He replied clearly in pain.

Cap and company stood above the group at the ready. "We don't want to kill you." Natasha began, her confidence in her team showing through. "But we will."

Proxima snarled at the trio. "What do you want with Vision?" Steve questioned, holding Corvus's weapon.

"Our Master will have what he seeks! The Asgardian squealed like an infant when he told us where to find it."

"Asgardian." Cap turned to Natasha with fear in his eyes.

"And we'll break you just as easily!" Glass sprayed from the skylight above them when a massive figure broke through. Proxima took advantage of the distraction to retrieve their weapons. "Obsidian, protect your brother." Cap and the others failed to prevent them from escaping when the trio mowed them down like a pack of wild bulls.

"Sam."

"Got it." Wilson was already ahead of Cap when he flew through the same opening. Red Wing stayed behind to monitor everything.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked when he made his way to Wanda. She only hugged him tightly, so relieved that he and the other had come when they did. Things undoubtedly would have ended much worse. "You're ok." He spoke calmly.

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Wanda was shaken up and out of breath. She helped Vision who was still conscious sit up.

"We never lost track of you, honey." Nat replied, comforting the young Maximoff. The three of them hadn't stopped keeping track of the lovebirds since they left. They let them have their time together but always made sure to check in whenever possible. Something wasn't right, that much was clear to all of them.

"They were after me." Vision spoke shakenly, looking over to Wanda. "They were after this." His hand rested against the infinity stone which was still embedded into his skull thankfully. Sam had returned only moments later empty-handed, but Cap and the others were only happy that he was safe.

"Giant floating structures in the sky then those two freak shows attack Vis. That ain't a coincidence." Sam stated, loading Red Wing back up.

"Wait…there are more of those things?" Wanda gasped in disbelief at this news. "What are they?"

"We don't know." Cap said getting back to his feet. "But we're going to see someone who might." Nothing was adding up. Their attackers said that an Asgardian told them where to find Vision or more importantly his mind stone. The only Asgardian they knew of was obviously Thor and he had been off the grid for two years the same as Banner. Could Thor know more than they believed? Wanda helped Vision into the Quinjet Where Banner was waiting for them. The Doctor was beginning to worry when they hadn't heard from Strange or Tony again. None of them knew how to wrap their heads around any of this. Cap kept his expression as brave when he took the controls of the jet and plotted their flight plan for Wakanda.


	2. Before then

Days earlier

Deep Space

The vastness of space was new to the Asgardian people. IT had been their home for the past two months and soon they would arrive on the Earth. Thor looked forward to seeing his fellow Avengers and introducing his people to their new home. His team would be more than happy to assist any way they could. It had been two years, but Thor didn't think that much could have changed. Loki hesitated his thoughts shifting back and forth on what exactly to think or say and the two of them stood on the observation deck of the ship. "Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Earth?" He really should have asked this question months ago seeing how they were now only a few days out.

"Course I do. The people of earth love me, I'm very fond of them."

His brother rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed. "Let me rephrase that. Do you think it's a good idea for me to come back to Earth?"

 

"Probably not, but I wouldn't worry brother. I have feeling that everything's going to be fine."

The younger brother nodded, having a brief feeling of relief, both did. The moment shifted as the shadow of a massive cruiser entered their own ship's path. The two brothers turned to look to one another slowly, not knowing what to say. "That isn't good."

Thor shook his head. "It's a big galaxy. There are plenty of ships."

"Yes, but I know that one." Loki didn't wait to explain to his brother when he began to make his way back up to the bridge. Thor became hot on his heels when the alarms of the ship sounded. Guardsmen readied themselves with their weapons as they headed to the lower hangers where four small cruisers had made their landing decent inside.

"They're firing at us." Thor said when the ship shook rapidly, causing the two of them to briefly lose their balance. "Who are they?" Loki gave no reply. Sigrun had been looking for the brother ever since the alarms sounded

"I leave you two alone for five minutes and then suddenly we're all in danger?" Thor was pleased to see her up and about. So far there had been no resistance that had boarded.

"Where's Banner?"

Val shrugged as she drew her sword. "Dunno, but he better turn green and fast." The warrior tumbled into the arms of her king when the ship shook again. Who could possibly be attacking them? The ship and its crew were out in the middle of nowhere and carried no kind of precious cargo.

"I don't think-" The king's words were caught in this throat when the realism and all feeling turned dark and dreamlike.

Thor's mind became a riot. His breathing became ragged when his vision blurred. Sigrun laid only a few feet from him, she wasn't moving. "Val." The King groaned, crawling over to his love. The Valkyries long hair was scattered around her face as she lay motionless. "Val." Tears filled the king's eyes as he held the warrior in his arms. Distance screams from fellow Asgardians were slightly dulled in the king's ears as he helplessly watches four sentient lifeforms of warrior status carve out his people without mercy. The memories of the dream he had only mere nights ago rushed through his mind. The bodies of his people, the destruction of all that was left of them. He had foolishly disregarded these images, regarding them as only dreams. He could not see any sign of Heimdall or Banner. His ears were still ringing from the explosion, he couched form the smoke that surrounded him. His heart ached at the carnage before him. His breathing remained heavy when his eyes rose to his brother who stood before him ash and blood around his face. "Brother." Banner was nowhere to be seen, Thor prayed that the doctor was unharmed in the attack. Something…something had to have caused the ship to hold this much damage.

"Stay down please." Loki begged, removing the tesseract from a small magic pocket dimension. "It will all be over soon."

 

Thor's eye widened in disbelief to see the tesseract in his sibling's possession again. "Brother, what have you done?" Sigrun moaned softly, wincing in pain when her body slowly moved. Thor screams filled the room when he was violently dragged away from Sigrun by his skull. Pain flowed through his body still from the after-effects of the blast. "Loki, help her. Please do something." The god's eye slowly crawled to the left, but even that effort was painful. Thor trembled at the sight of the two-big hoof-like feet that stood next to him in the ruble, the figure looked as big as the Hulk. Slowly the clearness of Thor's sight returned to gaze upon the face of his captor who had lifted his limp body up to face him eye to eyes. "Hello, your Majesty." He bellowed coldly. Valkyrie had finally woken from her painful sleep, taking in her surroundings as quickly as she could. Remembering the threat, remembering the danger and soon seeing that her love was in that same immediate danger. Her mission came back to her, remembering how she had sworn her life to the throne and to protect who served and ruled the people.

"I'm disappointed in you, young god." The Titan spoke, his voice once again made Thor shutter. He struggled constantly to get away from his captor, but the pressure was only increased. "I provided you forces to assist you in taking the Earth and now you're making off with my precious space stone."

"Why did you take the tesseract." Thor breathed as he clutched his leg which had sustained damage from the hanger explosion.

Loki trembled as he held the cube closely to him. "It…it could help us to rebuild our home," Sigrun screamed when Proxima bashed her head against the blood-filled floor when she attempted to fight back. Thor lashed at Thanos again as if he were drowning. "Please," Loki begged, his legs becoming weak when his words did the same. "Leave us in peace and I'll give you what you want."

"Loki!" The young prince was trying to save his brother, why couldn't he see that?

"Quiet." Corvus growled, resting his spear against the god's throat, Thor feared that it would draw blood if he moved even a little. Thor had been trying to track any trace of the infinity stones for two years and had found nothing of value. Never had it occurred to him that the tesseract had been part of that co

Loki walked up to face Thanos and rose the tesseract above him, presenting it to the mad Titan who proudly took it. "Your people did well to keep this from me." He said, examining the cube thoroughly. "Makes me wonder just how much you knew of the power it held." A blinding light engulfed the room when Thanos crushed the tesseract like an egg. All that trouble and all this death was accomplished just so he could destroy the cube? Or so they thought, in reality destroying the cube revealed its small heart. It was as if a heartbeat pounded through the void of space when the stone connected to its rightful place on the gauntlet.

"Now leave us in peace."

Thanos showed no expression as motioned to his generals to surround the young prince. His cold eyes never left the sight of his beautiful infinity stones. "I never negotiate with my enemies. I crush them into dust." Thor cried out in pain, all he could do was watch. The Titan didn't loosen his grip at all, forcing him to watch as the generals attacked Loki without mercy or empathy. The king watched his beloved brother's lifeless form slum to the cold, metal floor. A sharp pain entered Thor's chest as he whimpered in misery. Time had not lessened his love for Loki despite everything he had said and done to him for so long.

Ebony Maw slinked over to the Asgardian, his lips curled with pleasure. "Master, this one knows more. He's concealing the truth in his small mind." Thanos turned with intrigue in his eyes. Corvus and Obsidian restrained the king as Maw's worm-like figure slinked closer. "So alone you are now." His bony fingers curled over one another. "So afraid you are to tell us….tell us…no…tell me. It will be better that way, yes tell me!" He spoke almost giddy. "Yes, tell me. It will be so much fun. Oh, the fun we shall have now." Thor could feel himself growing tired as the heathen spoke. "Do not wither, you do not have my permission yet. You may tell me now what you know."

"I….I don't."

"Shhhh listen first to your emptiness king. You have so much of it still. Play the game, is all you must do for me. I promise it will be fun. We cannot play if you die now. I have only broken you, not enough to kill you yet."

"You…killed my brother."

"No time for this part." Maw spoke as if he were insane, at war within himself. "Time to pay for your lies, your secrets." Thors cries of anguish once again echoed through the ship as Maw pulled and cut into his physic plane, his realm of thought. Maw was a parasite of desire when it came to controlling and longing, he searched for what was always hidden. Images flooded Maw's mind, one by one they each revealed something of great value. A deep, monstrous roar come from who Thor could only guess was Banner who had gotten angry enough to turn back into the Hulk. Obsidian played his part to subdue the monster, pummeling him almost into submission before he could react. "Master." Maw rose from his crouched position to address his father. "The stones brother resides on Earth." Thanos gazed to his generals with deep intent written on his face. The green monster roared again when he cradled an unconscious Sigrun in his enormous arms. The god-king laid on the floor in shock when Thanos snapped his fingers, which opened a portal that swallowed the monster and the Valkyrie up, disappearing them from sight.

"Master?" Proxima knew better than to question their father's actions, but to let a creature like that survive was strange.

"The monster is of Earth." Thanos replied, standing over the wounded king who was crawling to get find an escape. "He will warn its warrior of our arrival. But there is nothing that they can do." Thor cursed himself for being so weak. Everything inside and outside of him ached, his home people, family, and love were lost to him and now nothing would stop this monster from acting against the rest of the galaxy. "Corvus you and Proxima will go to earth to retrieve my prize. Contact us when you are ready."Thor drifted into unconsciousness when his body was thrown into the cold darkness that awaited outside.


	3. White Wolf and Hulk Return

Wakanda

Despite what others would think, despite what would have been rational all that had been done to James Barnes, all the torment, and misery that plagued his mind should have made him cold and heartless. But in reality, it only made him kinder. For the past few months, Bucky had reentered the world, not as a killer but instead a man who walked a path to redemption, one act at a time. The ex-soldier often joined Doctor Conrad and Nakia on their mercy missions and it felt so right for Buck to be back out in the field, not at war, just doing what he could to help anyone. The reality of Bucky's new life was that he wasn't a soldier anymore, he was just a man doing good. Okoye had overseen Barnes training with the Dora to sharpen his skills once his recovery process had been accomplished. He had woken to a world of pure spectacle, one he never imagined he'd ever lived to see. "We're home." Shuri rose from her seat on the troop ship that Ayo was flying. Passing through the protective barrier to Wakanda always left her breathless. Luminescent lit the landing platform outside the palace where multiple figures stood waiting. A pure smile grew on Paiges' face as she made her way down the ramp where Okoye, and Bucky were waiting for them.

"So, the party girls return." Buck snickered playfully.

"Could have been a partier too if you came with?" Shuri said

Buck only shook his head in response. "Not really ready for big crowds yet." Shuri was slightly disappointed that Barnes refused to wear the newest prosthetic that she had fashioned for him over a year ago. Instead, he stuck to keeping his lost appendage in a sling and only relying on his right arm for anything.

"Good night all. I'm going to see my little nephew and go to bed." Shuri announced as she walked off with Okoye and the remaining Dora, leaving him and Doctor Conrad alone together after over a week of separation. The pair embraced tightly, locking their lips together, beyond happy to see one another.

"I missed you so much." Buck breathed deeply.

The doctor smiled up at him lovingly. "It's good to be home." It felt good to be back home and with her in his arm again.

"How was Coachella?" He asked. Their plane had must have only landed a few hours ago and Paige looked exhausted.

Paige laughed, thinking back to how wild Shuri had been for the week they had spent at the festival together in California. "It was interesting to see Okoye dance." Barnes laughed at her sarcasm. "But, it was nice to get away from everything." Paige had been working hard with Nakia in the US with their Wakadan outreach programs. The two of them had built a pretty nice life for themselves, living together on the outskirts of the city doing things that normal couples did, morning yoga, meditation, reading, movies. Buck was thankful for the normalcy, he was doing much to avoid heavy conflict. "What is it?" The doctor asked, noticing that the Wolf was still smiling.

"I've got great news." Buck rested his hand on her neck, just taking her in for a moment. "How would you feel about spending the next ten days in Cancun?"

Paige marveled at the suddenness. "Cancun?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't we just spend two weeks in Rome?"

"That was a month ago. It's my turn to pick our next vacation spot." For the past year, the couple had been taking advantage of the quite by visiting a different location every couple of months.

"I do have a job you know." Paige protested at first trying to avoid Barnes puppy eyes.

"Come on, Doll. I'm finally free thanks to you and there's still so much I want to see." The days had gotten better for him, the nights were still a working progress. But it was so nice to see him happy again. "Maybe we could do some more shopping for the house?" Paige's hands weaved through her partner's hair when she kissed him. "How's your head feeling?"

"The headaches are getting better." She replied rubbing her forehead as the walked to their home this time without an escort. "They're not usually regular for me. It might just be my allergies." The two of them would miss their home in Wakanda but were grateful for the time they spent there. Both of them were more than ready to take the risks that they knew would come with their new life but found themselves more than ready for whatever would come.

New York City

177A Bleecker Street

Doctor Stephen Strange felt as if he had been sucker punched in his gut which broke his meditative concentration and caused him to hit the hard floor beneath him. He groaned as he looked up to his cloak, which was levitating next to him, staring at him with a feeling and look of confusion. "Thank you for your help." Never before had a feeling such as that run through his system like running water to a waterfall. The Doctor shakily rose to his feet, knees still trembling. It felt as though the eye was reaching a whole other plane of communication, reaching out and calling for help. "What…what do you want to show me?" Strange asked the eye. It obviously couldn't speak but could see more than anyone. Strange breathed in sharply as the eye opened to reveal its bright green energy. There had been a debate on whether the infinity stone processed a form of consciousness but seeing how the eye had once belonged to a powerful sorcerer that theory appeared highly possible. "What are you trying to tell me?" Stephens gaze shot back up when Wong had returned from the kitchen downstairs with a trey and tea assortments on top. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Wong asked as he filled their tea glasses. It was impossible to describe the feeling. Stephen frantically looked around the room. "What's wrong with you, Strange?"

"Everything suddenly feels wrong." The two practically jumped out of their skin when a loud thud rang through the room. Dust and wood scattered with a rush. "What the hell?" Strange gasped when a roar came from the gaping hole in the stairs case.

"Hails gotten bigger." Wong joked. Both proceeded with caution toward the massive, gaping hole in the floor. Wong had already conjured his magic mandalas before he and his fellow sorcerer peered into the pit, not sure what to expect. "You look first."

Strange glared at his friend. "You look first."

Both realized that the debate would last longer than needed they both slowly peered below. In the wreckage beneath their feel partly covered in soot and rubble was…. Doctor Bruce Banner? Now that was really unexpected, mainly because he had been presumed dead for the past year. He looked confused, unaware of where he was

Lying next to him was dark skinned, unconscious woman. "Help her." He cried. "Please, I don't think she's breathing." Stephen removed His cloak and guided it down to scoop up the unconscious woman. Her head was bruised along wither her lower lip, thankfully she had a pulse. All Banner asked for when he was pulled out of the whole was for a change of clothes and a phone.


	4. If you need me I'll be there

New York

Central Park

Going on jogs so early in the morning isn't what Tony had in mind for a couple's activity, but Pepper had figured out a clever way of motivating him. "Ha." The redhead laughed when she made it to the mile marker where they had agreed to run to. "FRIDAY, mark daffodils on the wedding list."

"Now…." Tony benched over on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Now that's unfair you know I'm allergic to daffodils."

Pepper only rolled her eyes. "No, you're not."

"No, you're not, Boss." FRIDAY repeated.

"fine, but that much yellow is gonna hurt my eyes."

"We'll balance it out." She replied, kissing his cheek.

"Why can't we do my idea?" He asked. So far wedding planning hadn't been too difficult, it had been fun mostly. "I still think we should go with my idea."

"Red roses are so cliched."

"You were still thinking about flowers? No, I was referring to the fireworks as you paraglide down the aisle while Johnny Cash plays."

"No."

"Meet me halfway?"

Pepper giggled at his humor. "Not even a little bit." Tony didn't care if would eventually ware her down, which seemed very unlikely. He was just happy to be with Pepp. The two were interrupted abruptly when part of the scenery seemed to catch fire, a spark like effect, such as stone striking flint, igniting a radiant circle of sparks.

"FRIDAY?"

"I don't know, Boss."

Tony shielded Pepper behind him when a male, human figure emerged from the portal of light. "Tony Stark, we need your help."

Tony and Pepper only stood in silence, trying to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Pepper tightly gripped Tony's wrist to the hand that pressed giant her shoulder as if to keep him standing when Bruce Banner entered through the gateway. Tony and Pep both stepped back together, questioning if their friend was truly present, that was until Banner embraced Tony in disbelief. "Tony, oh my god I can't believe it's you."

Starks gazed moved back to his fiancé. "I'm at a total loss for words."

Bruce struggled to talk straight, he was completely out of breath and shaking. "We…we need to talk."

"I'm sorry, I'm trying really hard to convince myself that you're real and I'm not dreaming which must be OW." The billionaire rubbed his arm in surprise when Banner pinched the surface of the skin. "Ok, I'm convinced." The doctor was relieved to hear that. "Where the hell have you been? We thought you were dead!"

"It's a long story. I was trapped in the Hulk for two years, fought in gladiator matches for a creepy overlord and Thor-"

"Thor?" That caught his attention immediately. "Thor's with you?" The news that both Banner and Thor were still alive and kicking were not so much unbelievable as it seemed. The team had searched for the two of them ever since Sakovia and hadn't found a trace. Many of them didn't want to give up the search but combing the entire globe and finding nothing was a good enough reason to stop.

Banner froze, his stomach twisted as he tried to explain. "Tony." The process alone of trying to speak the words through him too much pain. "He's dead." Tony could feel his exhale cut off sharply, his heart racing along with his mind. How could something like this happen "We need to talk."

Wakanda

The past two years had been dedicated to the nation of Wakanda and its people lending its hands to the outside world for the very first time. T'Challa had made a bold move as the king but he could only do what he believed was right. So much had been accomplished in such a short time, with so many people willing to help with so much compassion and heart. Wakanda was entering a new chapter in its history and T'Challa was pleased that the future children of the world would be born into this new world. "

"Guess who's back, back again." Nakia shushed Shuri when she abruptly entered the room. She covered her mouth quickly and lowered her voice knowing that it was rude to shout. "Sorry."

"Ah, there's my little sister. How was Coachella?"

"Brought you back a gift." The little princess giggled, placing a pair of pineapple shaped sunglass on her brother's face. "Sorry, you couldn't come." She turned to Nakia, hugging her

"I have more important things to focus on than parties." Nakia smiled to her sister in law.

"Conrad and I made it back safely," Shuri assured her brother.

"Where is she now?" T'Challa questioned,

"Went back home with Barnes" Shuri yawned. "I was just going to see Mama before I went to bed. What time are you heading back to the states with Paige?"

"Early tomorrow morning." The new queen of Wakanda said moving to the bedroom door with her new sister. "I hope I see you before I leave." The couple was left alone. "I'm proud of what you've created here." Nakia smiled at her husband, hugging him.

"I promise that it will be worthwhile."

New York

"Tell me his name again." Tony Stark had already heard it so many times at this point, repeating it over and over again in his head, but still wasn't sure if everything was real.

"Thanos." Banner spoke shakenly, beginning to repeat everything again. "He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets, he takes what he wants, he wipes out half the population. He sent Loki, the attack on New York, that's him."

"This is him." Tony said under his breath. This was who had started all of this from the beginning. This Thanos was the cause of the Avengers assembling for the first time and was responsible for much more. All of this was him, how could one being have so much power?

"He's a monster." Sigrun groaned while Strange continued to tend to her. "He killed our people with no effort, imagine what he can do to your world."

Tony still couldn't believe everything that Banner had said to him in only a matter of minutes. First off it was a relief to see Bruce alive after all this time, but Thor was dead how is that even possible? Loki was dead as well along with possibly the remainder of the Asgardian people. The thought shook Tony to his core. "What's our timeline?"

"No telling." That wasn't good to hear. "He has the power and space stones. That only makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six stones, Tony-"

"He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of." Tony couldn't believe Stranges verbal usage.

"Did you seriously just say hitherto undreamt of?" He asked stretching out his legs while he collected his thoughts.

"Are you seriously leaning on the cauldron of the cosmos?"

"Is that what it-" Tony was cut off when the Doctors long and….surprisingly sentient cloak smacked his hand off the cauldron. "I'm going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six why don't we just stick this one down a garbage disposal?" Logically hiding or destroying the time stone was the best option that came to mind.

"No can do."

"We swore an oath to protect the time stone with our lives." Wong said, finding Starks input less than helpful

"And I swore off dairy, then Ben and Jerrys named a flavor after me so."

"Stark Raving Hazelnut." Strange muttered finding that fact incredibly unbelievable.

"Not bad."

"Hmm, a bit chalky."

"Well, that's your opinion."

"You can't destroy something this powerful." Sigrun protested, rising to her feet. She didn't feel like wasting any more time

"Do you know that for a fact Warrior Princess?"

Sigruns voice turned defensive as she approached the so-called genius. "It may be difficult for your small mind to comprehend something like this. Thor did warn me about your arrogance."

"I'm sorry, did you say small-minded?" Tony turned back to Bruce. "How do you know her again?"

Bruce was more than convinced that Tony wouldn't believe him. He had already told him everything that he could remember from the past two years. "Gladiator matches."

"How have you not written an autobiography yet?" It was insane to hear that Asgard was now gone, reduced to space ash in a matter of moments and now the idea of Thor potentially being dead, the situation wasn't getting any better.

Sigrun was slowly becoming impatient. "I thought you said that he would help us?"

Tony ignored her comment, turning back to Strange "Did Thor know you were holding one of these fancy rimstones when you met him?"

Strange shook his head. "No, I wasn't even made aware that he was searching for them."

"Look, we need to do something. Get homeland security on the line, call the team. Why aren't they here?" Tony was the first one he called the moment he had deHulked. The others should have arrived with him.

Speaking of the accords was not going to go over well with Bruce, that much was certain. That deep of separation between them still hasn't healed in the past two years. "Listen, about that I-" The five of them hadn't even heard the commotion outside before it had grown to the point of pure mayhem. Tony quickly made his way to the door, slowly opening it to the crowd filled streets. They were obviously running from danger, but from what? Well, Tony didn't know that until he looked up. His heart pounded violently as he looked up to the sky in disbelief. An enormous, round, spinning structure was slowly descending to the ground.


	5. Living with and without war

Wakanda

Bucky woke in the dead of night feeling at peace. His mind hadn't been plagued with nightmares of the past, his anxiousness had died instead pleasant dreams and thoughts. He had awoken earlier than usual, Buck turned to the clock on his phone and read the time at 4:03 AM. Paige wasn't lying next to him, that wasn't surprising, is was common of her to be up this early in the morning. The first time he noticed it scared him half to death. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the light from the lamp on his bedside, Tanzy was still fast asleep at the foot of their bed, Bucky chuckled softly when he heard her snoring quietly. Buck made his way to the living room when he finally got out of bed and he was pleased to see that he was right, Paige was right where he thought. Relaxing her mind and body by practicing her aerial dancing. Paige had been able to set up an aerial hoop in the living room of their house. The small cabin was built by Barnes with the help of some Wakndian builders. The cabin was built on the outskirts of the city, where Barnes wouldn't feel overwhelmed in the crowded city. Bucky just leaned against the wall, staying hidden and just watching her. The way she beautifully performed, moving her body the way she did. He then stepped into the dim light when her head just barely touched the floor beneath her as her legs hooked around the hoop. She was caught by surprise when her eyes finally opened to see him standing before her. "Is this a closed practice?"

"Not at all." Paige smiled, pulling herself back up to sit in the hoop.

"You ok?" She nodded. He felt stupid asking this when he knew what the problem was, it really wasn't really a problem at all, Paige had always had strange sleeping habits. In bed by ten, up at three because of her internal clock. She reads the news on her phone for an hour and does aerial for another hour before going back to bed. Buck rested his hands on the hoop gazing into his girls captivating irises.

"Why are you up?" It was important for Buck to get at least eight hours every night. "Too much on your mind?"

The doctor didn't hesitate to let him help her down. "No, I set an alarm on my phone. I wanted to watch you dance." She had changed into a long-legged body suit.

"You figured out how to use a cell phone?"

"Very funny." He laughed picking her up in his one, good arm. Buck didn't like having the arm for daily use, much to the disappointment of Shuri. It wasn't HYDRA but it still felt wrong. They laid together on the couch for a while, watching the lights from the city outside. "When did Eryn say we could move in?" Thinking about the move had made him slightly anxious but knew that it was the right move for him at the moment.

"The first of next month." Buck kissed her for head sweetly. "One more month and you won't have to worry about anything."

The ex-soldier liked the sound of that. Becoming isolated from the world, with little to worry about and never returning to the horror show of a life he once had. "Perfect." He sighed happily.

"Are you sure you want to get out of the game?" She asked propping herself up to look at his face. "I'm not saying you shouldn't, you've been through enough. I just want you to make sure."

Buck had thought over that idea so many times, thinking of some many other outcomes that could be seen, but he was sure about this one, he wanted out. "I never wanted to pick up a gun ever again. I wanted to live my life out in peace with you." Th ex-soldier became drowsy when his girl weaved her hands through his hair. "I love you." He whispered before she had fallen asleep. Soon enough they'd be far away from the world and its conflicts, never having to worry about their pst fears ever again.

The wonders that the two had been told of the sunsets of Wakanda being the most beautiful on the planet. The sun lit the sky in such a way that no artist could possibly capture with even a decade of practice. It was at this time when some of the children from the local tribes would come to watch Bucky, for what reason? They found him interesting and silly and because Paige would play with them while their families began their daily work which Barnes was more than happy to help with. He would tie the grain that harvesters would bring him then load them for a retriever to later collect. There were many more loaders but he was given a small percentage to handle throughout the day, James liked to be productive during some hours of the day. While he worked Paige sat on the porch of their house and greeted the small girls that came to say hello. "Good morning." She spoke in Wakandian to Zoya and her friends Furaha and Mesi came running up to hug her. "Look how pretty you all look today." The small girls were captivated by Conrads short, boyish hair they must have never seen anything like it. "One of these days we'll braid his hair." The little girls giggled when Paige motioned to Bucky. Emeka and Talib two young boys that were schoolmates watched the White Wolf from up in a nearby tree and would often come to help. Both Paige and Barnes were surprised when the little ones raced off to the hills. Both looked to see the wondrous presence of the king of Wakanda approach their home along with his armed guards and a gift in tow. Paige waited on the porch, the five children had run up to see what was going on.

"Where's the fight?" He asked heartbroken that he would once again have to fight.

T'Challa looked so torn to bring the poor man back into this fight but knew that they would need everyone. "On its way." Buck reached out for Paige's hand, she was quick to hold it tightly to comfort him. He could see in her eyes exactly what she was thinking. She would stand by him if he chose to fight even if she was scared of what would happen.

Location classified

"What are you thinking about?" Nat asked laying her head on Steves' shoulder as he sat at the controls of the quinjet, wrapped in a heavy blanket, his eyes gazed at the stars above them. The get was cold, especially at night even with the heating system.

"Too much." The soldier replied, opening his arms up for the pajama wearing spy to sit on his lap, she didn't hesitate. The two sat quietly for a moment warm and happy. "Just tired." They both softly chuckled when they hear Wilson snoring, he had curled up in a sleeping bag and was fast asleep already.

"Guess we don't have to worry about Sam." The three of them had been side by side for the past two years, staying hidden and working in secret, spending their time and days wisely. The had to be careful about how much time they spent in public together. With the accords still in effect keeping a low profile had become a new way of life, one that none of them liked. Natasha was shocked when Steve had told her and Sam the truth about Bucky and the Starks, perhaps telling Tony the truth from the start should have been the right move or perhaps not. Would Natasha have done the same thing for the millionaire? Sure, when they had first met she hadn't thought much of him, thought him arrogant and overly self-assured, sure he still was, but now less so. Regardless it hadn't been her place to tell him, it had been Steve's. The past two years had made him tougher, something that Nat never thought she'd see in him, but it was necessary to survive. "I'm ready to get out." The spy sighed into the soldier's neck.

"It's 4 in the morning."

Nat rolled her eyes, sometimes Rogers was slow on the uptake. "That's not what I mean." Her eyes rested on his again. "I want out of the spy game. I want a future together that doesn't always involve this fighting." His topic of conversation was all too failure to the both of them. They had always put it off for fear of facing the reality of their situation, where they doomed to always be fighting, was there a way out?

"I've never thought of that." He lied.

Luckily Nat saw right through his lies as usual. "Yes, you have." The spy had taught the soldier to lie better but was always able to see through the lies. "Never lie to me, Rogers."

"Sorry." He said solemnly, holding her close to him. Their combined heat kept them warm. They eventually moved to their makeshift cots across the ship from Sam. "I don't know if I can have that." Natasha's eyes saddened when he said this, her hand rested on his cheek, the stubble tickled her skin.

"What's going on?"

The captain only stared, taking her all in. "It's…something Ultron said, it just stuck in my head. He said I was incapable of living without war…..I'm just wondering if he's right." That one sentence had been embedded into his brain ever since Ultron had said it.

"Captain America, Gods righteous man. Pretending you could live without war."

"What do you think?" Nat asked, laying on her side.

The soldier gathered his thoughts carefully. "War is simple, you know who you're fighting, you know the enemy and your allies…..a simple life, one without war….I don't know what to do with that, I don't know if I'm built for it."

"Steve-"

"I want to be with you, don't ever doubt that Nat." Nat could feel him trembling under her, she could see on his face that he was telling the truth. He wanted to spend his life with her, wanted a future, but did that future involve fighting day in and day out? "I'm just want to live through it, but I'm scared that I won't." He struggles with his words, trying to explain.

"This is going to kill you." That was the realization that he lived with every day. Cap knew that keeping this pace up would one day, in fact, kill him.

"You asked me if I was going to stop…I don't know if I can." The disappointment on Romanoff's face was unmistakable, it made Steve's chest hurt when it looked like she may burst into tears.

"Please say something."

Natasha sighed, pulling the soldier's forehead close to her own. "You're more than a fighter. You're a motivator, friend, lover, leader and one of the greatest artists I have ever seen. You're a creator not a destroyer. You do not exist only to fight war, you exist to learn, love and grow like everyone else." Goosebumps washed over the soldier when the spy's lips rested on his forehead. "I love you Steve Rogers and I promise you that you're meant for more."

Steves' mouth curled into a beautiful smile when the spy finished her argument. "I love you too." His fears were suddenly swept away, Steve didn't feel so uncertain. He held Natasha close to his chest as the night carried on, the two had just about fallen asleep until a faint ringing filled the jet.

"Ahh..what…what's going on?" Sam jolted awake right away the minute he heard the sound. Steve, however, knew exactly what it was. He pulled the small flip phone from out of his pillowcase, there was no hesitation to pick up. He knew who was calling and knew that he wouldn't be if it wasn't important. Caps heart seemed to skip a beat, he was anxious to see what needed doing, or was he falling back into the trap of needed conflict? Either way, his friend needed him, the world needed them all.

"Hello?"


	6. Invasion

NEW YORK

"The streets of this massive city were all new to Sigrun, nothing like it But the threat that stood before them was all too familiar. Her armor was worn and torn up but was still functional, she would stand and fight these monsters, she would not fail again.

"Tony was already focusing on public safety. "Friday, evac anyone south of 43 Street, notify first responders."

Friday snapped into action."Will do."The warning would be received in a matter of minutes, the heroes only needed to buy a little time.

"These are the ones who attacked our ship. Their master killed my king." The brave Valkyrie delayed her tears as she drew her sword and stood ready to fight, allowing her emotions to fuel herself.

"MsoNormal" She and Bruce shivered when they heard Maws cold, emotionless voice address them and all who would listen to his decree. "Hear me and rejoice! You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos." It wasn't that different from what he had said while he and his siblings slaughtered Thor's people without a second thought, they had all clearly done this before. Showing no sympathy for those who laid dying and terrified at their feet. "Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to-"

"I'm sorry, Earth is closed today." Stark announced to the pair, not backing down along with his associates "You better pack it up and get outta here." It was highly unlikely that they would simply turn around and leave, not after what Banner and Siggy had told him. Steve would have undoubtedly done the same thing as Stark, give them at least a warning to depart peacefully.

"Stone keeper." The skinny worm looking one addressed Strange. "Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

"Certainly not. I speak for myself." The Doctor asserted his position firmly as he conjured his mystical shield along with Wong, ready to battle for the time stones protection. "There's no trespassing in this city and on this planet."

"You need to get lost, Squidward!" Once again, the offer was made to turn back. Sigrun was told multiple times by Thor that Stark was an odd one, but he was more than trustworthy. The truth of the situation was that she was in need of allies and now they stood with her.

"They exhaust me." Maw talked as if they were infants. "Bring me the Stone."

"Hey, do you want a piece?" Tony turned to Banner more than sure he was up for the challenge, seeing how these guys had managed to piss him off before.

"No, not really. But when do I ever get what I want."

"Tony couldn't argue with that logic, but Banner had managed to just go with the flow for the past few years. "Been a while. Good to have you, buddy." It really was, despite the unpleasant circumstances.

"I just... I need to concentrate for a second." There were slow fluctuations of green in the doctor would return into his skin tone, his temples and nostrils flared, but no other indication that a change was going to happen. "The situation quickly turned awkward when the jolly green giant had failed to make an appearance. "Come on, come on, Max. Where's your guy?"

"I don't know. We're certainly having a thing.

"Marital problems?" Strange asked sarcastically, sick of wasting time if the doctor wouldn't be performing with them then he should step aside

"There's no time for a thing. That's the thing right there. Let's go. Dude." you're embarrassing me in front of the wizards and Xena."

"How can you possibly be having performance issues?" After the immense raw power that Sigrun had witnessed on Saakar she would have thought that the big green guy would have been more than excited for a little payback after Thanos had beaten him.

"It's okay. Stand down." Tony couldn't believe this; the Hulk wasn't coming out. That would defiantly not shift the odds in their favor, but they were still in higher numbers. "Can I leave you with him? Thank you."

"Wong didn't argue to defend the Doctor. "I have him." Sigrun was sick of talking. She didn't hesitate to lung to Obsidian, locking her Dragonfang with his own massive war hammer. He was defiantly stronger than her, Valkyrie strained against the force the massive brute supplied, her feet dig into the pavement as she tries to hold him back. Maw entangled with Stark and the others as if it were child splay, Val knew that with the big guy not being able to step up she would be the next best thing to handle Cull. Part of her knew that she didn't stand a chance, but she was sick and tired of these tyrants and how they continued to operate. She would defeat these killers to avenge her beloved king and their people. She laughed pridefully when her blade pierced Culls hide above his sternum, Val was sure to take advantage of her clean shot and tackled Cull. Thanks to her size and swiftness she was able to evade the brute's attacks, making sure he was kept away from a defenseless Banner. The beautiful blue blade of her sword gleamed in the sun, the Valkyrie hadn't seen the sun in months, hadn't known the sensation on solid ground either. The effects of real gravity once again effecting her body was starting to come full circle, the warrior suddenly felt lightheaded. She had not yet fully recovered from her first battle.

"Come on big guy." Val turned back to Banner who was still doing his best to stay out of the way. "Help angry girl!" But all the doctor could do was watch Cull throw the warrior down into the pavement. Her cries of pain filled Banner's ears as he tried to summon the Hulk again.

"Hulk, come on he's gonna kill her."

"Dr. Banner, if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us." The ground beneath Banner vanished with a wave of Strange's hand to send him away from the battle to better ensure his safety. Maw seemed far from impressed with the group's abilities to keep him and his brother at bay. Strange and Wong had fought off his attacks, his power of matter manipulation was frightening as it borrowed from the already damaged city streets.

"You gotta get that stone outta here, now!" Tony ordered, thinking that if Strange could get away it would buy them time for some kind of plan.

"It stays with me." The Doctors continued defiance was getting on Starks' nerves. But if the Doctor refused to move then he would have to do all he could to protect him and the stone.

T'challa knew what was coming and from what Captain Roger had told him the outcome could be disastrous. "I don't want to leave you." Nakia had protested, The queen of Wakanda was determined to stay and fight with her husband but was aware that if what they were warned of became a reality, became the outcome of this war than it would be better for her to guide and assist those outsides of Wakanda.

"I would love nothing more than for you to stand beside me, but there are those who need you. I shall ensure that you come home to a future worth living in, for all of us." The thought of a world like that made Nakias heart flutter. A jet was prepared to take her and Paige far away from Wakanda. Perhaps to one of the outreach center in the States, Everette Ross would be waiting for her with a group of agents to keep them safe. Her husband looked into her eyes, she could feel his strength. He harnessed the power of the ancestors and carried the people in his heart. Wakanda had become new to the outside world and now just two years later they would be at war.

"A tyrant with so much power, THAT much power just to succeed in galactic genocide will not be easy to defeat."

T'challa held his wife closer to him to calm her. Give me your doubts, your fears and I shall use them to make me stronger." T'challa hated to leave her, however, the reality of war is that no one receives what they wish. Two members of the Dora escorted Nakia to the jet, they were now only waiting for Doctor Conrad who hadn't finished her goodbyes. Okoye had arrived only moments later to inform the king of their arriving friends, who had just entered Wakanda's airspace. Okoye seemed rather tense when she and her Dora had been called to war. "When you sad we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world, this is not what I imagined."

"What did you imagine?" Her King asked with intrigue in his voice. Perhaps he could mention her ideas to Nakia.

"The Olympics. Even a Starbucks." The King laughed at his Generals ideas of expansion. Wakanda had done much in recent years, but now it was time to put all that aside for now to maintain order.

The Captain greeted the King. "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." T'challa had bee one of the groups biggest assets over the years, supplying them with as much assistance as they required

] "So how big of an assault should we expect?"

"Sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault." With what Banner had described from what had happened on the Asgardians ship one could only imagine what kind of ground forces Thanos would have at his disposal.

"How are we looking?" Natasha stayed close to Steve ready to fight beside him.

"You will have my Kings guard. The Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje. And..." The Wakandian king motioned to two familiar faces.

"A semi-stable 100-year old man." It seemed now that Sargent Barnes could laugh at his once frightening condition or at least now make jokes. There were mixed feelings amongst the Avengers when seeing Barnes and Conrad. Most of it was mostly aimed at the ex-HYDRA agent, still, some remaining tension that may not have been unwarranted, regardless the soldier was more than ready to win their trust for good.

"How have you been, Buck?" Steve asked, embracing his friend for the first time in months, happy to see him smiling and free.

"Not bad for the end of the world." Paige nudged him After she exchanged a hug with the group.

"Shhh, the world isn't going to end." Paige's expression then turned worried when she finally said the words out loud. "It's, not…. right?"

Natasha was fast to reassure her friend as she hugged her. "Not as long as we're willing to do something."

"Hayzey!" Sam smiled, hugging his dearest friend and placing a kiss on her cheek. It was a relief to see her safe still, he had never been comfortable leaving Paige alone with Barnes but respected her reason for staying with him. "Oh, I've missed you so much."

"I was getting worried. I haven't heard from you guys in weeks" Sam had been the one who she had contacted the most during her staying Wakanda, he was always checking up on her. "You eating ok?" Sam chuckled at her motherly questioning.

The group was led by T'Challa to the upper levels of Shuri's lab to examine Vision, she was anxious to get her hands on something that wasn't vibranium for a while and the chance to show off her know how was of course too good to pass up. The young princess stood in amazement at the divine detail of the humanized android as she scanned him over receiving new data to her kimoyo beads. "That structure is polymorphic."

"Right we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially."

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" The princess questioned as if the answer was painfully obvious. Even Vision gave doctor Banner a look of curiosity.

"Because we didn't think of it?" In their defense, they had been pressed for time when the concept of Vision had been brought to literal life in just a matter of moments.

Shuri stood with a smug look on her face. "I'm sure you did your best."

Conrad prodded the young genius for her rude remark. "What did we talk about sassing?"

"But it's true." She only protested. Paige only shook her head before looking over the data.

"What did we talk about?" Paige repeated.

Shuri sighed deeply, thinking back. "It's rude to point out people's mistakes."

"Exactly."

"Can you do it?" Wanda asked, turning the conversation back to Vision. was getting more and more anxious. But if the alternative was not to destroy Vision than she was up for anything. The situation hadn't turned desperate yet, as long as Wanda could prevent it from getting worse that would keep Vision alive and safe.

"Yes, but there are more than two trillion systems here. One misalignment can lead to a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time brother."

"How long?" Rogers asked hoping for a quick process. The sooner the better

"As long as you can give me and I'm going to need your help." Surprise rose on doctor Conrad's face when the young Princess pointed to her.

"Me, what in the world would you possibly need me for?"

"You have a better understanding of the human mind than anyone else here. Your impute will greatly help me."

"Paige shook her head in protest. "Ok first off not human." She pointed down at Vision, her expression then turned apologetic to the android, realizing her blunt remark. "I'm so sorry. That was extremely rude."

"Quite alright." Vision responded, not really thinking much of it.

"Secondly this is a little over my head, Shuri." Sure, the doctor was highly skilled in the design and functions of the mind, it had been a massive help to Suri when they were searching for a cure for Bucky.

"The process isn't too different from the one we performed on Barnes. I can't do this without you." This hadn't been the plan. Paige was supposed to return to the states with Nakia to keep her safe, but she was being asked to help protect the known universe from its greatest evil yet.

T'challa stepped forward fearing for the young Doctors safety. "We cannot force you to stay Doctor and we cannot ask you."

Paige only shook her head, activating her kimoyo beads "Nakia, don't wait for me. Get the jet in the air I won't be coming with you." Everyone appeared worried when the doctor had made up her mind. "You all shouldn't have asked me to stay, I should have made that choice myself and I'm ashamed I didn't. This is my home, I have much right to help defend it as anyone else. So whatever needs doing I'll be here."

"Something entered the atmosphere." The group turned to the windows that looked upon the open planes of Wakanda not sure what they expected to see. Had Thanos sent some kind of aerial attack? It seemed the most logical strategy unless he was planning to portal his forces to the planet's surface. One thing was certain, Wakanda was going to become a war one. This is where they would make their stand.

"Hey Cap we gotta situation here." Falcon radioed to the group as debris fell in fiery quantities from the sky. Raining down but thankfully only impacted the force field that encased the entire city in a protective dome."God, I love this place." Buck gazed up in amazement yet again at the advancements of this new century.

"Rhodey looked back to the sky where the rain had not simply stopped. "Don't start celebrating yet guys we got more incoming outside the dome." One by one massive monolith fell from the sky, implanting themselves deep into the Earth.

"They're coming," Sigrun growled. She wondered how many more times she would have to face these killers before she was finally free from them.

"T'challa turned back to Okoye. The time had come their enemy was on their way and they needed to be ready. "We will hold them off." The Dora stood ready for their Kings orders.

"Wanda as soon as that stones out of Vision's head blow it to Hell."

"I will" Again the Scarlet Witch prayed that it wouldn't come to that

"Evacuate the city! Engage all defenses! And get this man a shield!" Shuri grinned in excitement, for she had already been working on something very special for the Captain


	7. Between Lovers And friends

"Wow." Natasha gasped in amazement at Steve. "Look at you." The Captain grinned at the spy when she noticed the sleek armor gauntlets that Shuri had made for him. "You ever miss the original?" She asked, sliding her fingers across the metal.

The soldier surprisingly shook his head. "Not as much as I thought. Besides I prefer you to watch my back." Natasha approved highly of that response. Her tone softened when she noticed the worry of Steve's face. "What's wrong?" But Natasha already knew, the thought had been on the soldier's mind ever since this whole event had started. She rested his forehead softly against his chin. "I know, I miss him too." Tony had yet to make an appearance or even a phone call, but they all certainly didn't think that he was dead. But the disappearance of the armored Avenger wasn't the only thing that was bothering the Captain. "This all feels wrong." Steve breathed deeply, holding Nat close. "We don't even have time to mourn Thor and now we're going to war?"

It was true that the passing of their friend had not been given the proper time to grieve. Natasha did find herself crying to herself on the Jet when Banner had told them what had happened, she had comforted Sigrun. The power their new enemy frightened them desperately. "He would want us to move forward. To stand tall and strong. No matter what happened I'm standing by your side." Steve gazed upon her wonderful face at her lovingly, believing every word.

Sigrun had said little to nothing since they had arrived in Wakanda. She was still mourning her love, still grieving over her lose. Once again failure had scared her body and broken her heart. "I can't do this." The warriors voice was so quiet that Banner had to ask her to repeat her words. "I can't do this." She spoke louder, clutching her stomach as if she might be sick right there. "I failed Odin when I couldn't stop Hela and now I've failed to keep my new king and my people alive. I am ill-fated, doomed to fail I'm dead." Her trembling hands rested across her quivering lips, she should have stayed on Sakkar until she finally departed the world. Banner had to admit that Sigrun didn't have the greatest track record, but if she were a true warrior than she had to be aware that not every battle ended in victory. Although this poor woman, this tragic thing had lost the most important battles in her life. Bruce was sure to take his time when approaching his friend. This were going to get much worse before they got better.

"You will always have people to rely on. So despite what's going to happen out there, we will stand with you." Sigrun had once forgotten what it had felt like to have sisters in arms, had known that feeling of loyalty and trust. And now as the world was slowly falling apart she felt that hope died with her heart once again. She turned from Banner, laying her head against the wall as he knees were pulled toward her chest. She had lost her spirit to fight. The people of Asgard called a warriors will, thire which had long since left her. Her thire had been extinguished with the pain that she had long hoped to never feel again. She would not fight this battle, she could not, she simply didn't have it in her.

They were here. The invasion had been set just outside the cities borders. So far, the protective dome had not been breached and Thanos had yet to make an appearance. He would be leaving the majority of the invasion to his Generals and once the line was broken he would make his move. It was their job to ensure that the front line was not broken, that Vision is not reached. Shuri, Paige and Wanda were confined to the lab, they would be safe with the Dora protecting them. "Sam, I think we'll be ok." Wanda protested to her friend. "I'll have no problem keeping them safe." Wilson had more than enough reason to be on edge, things were going to get messy really fast.

"Are you sure?" His voice sounded shaken.

"Go help the others, Wilson." Paige looked at Sam in such a way that made him almost feel uncomfortable. Not in fear but rather sadness when embracing him tightly. "You're my best friend. I want you to be safe out there." Tears flooded her eyes as her grip tightened, she didn't want to say goodbye, didn't want to think of a horrible outcome if it came to past. People were going to die, no doubt. It was moments like these where Wilson wished that he processed more power than just wings and a pair of guns, he hated himself for not being able to do more to protect the ones he loved. Could staying in DC, not getting involved at all have changed things? No, this conflict would have come knocking with or without his involvement. He helped Paige close as she cried. Cried for him to come home, cried for all of them to come home.

"Don't worry Shorty." He spoke calmingly, feeling confident enough to walk outside with her.

The massive monoliths that stood high above the city so far had not presented any danger, they stood frightening and dormant. The warriors of Wakanda prepared for battle while the city finished its evacuations. The tribes stood ready to go to battle, they all knew the stakes, but no idea of the outcome. Barnes felt a tremendous feeling of guilt that the African planes would soon be a war zone, they didn't deserve this. His worries were put at ease when his long-time friend joined him outside. The two stood in silence not sure of what to say. It seemed no matter what the pair was made to fight wars.

Steve spoke of hope for the both of them which was desperately needed. "Paige showed me the house." He finally said, looking over at his friend. Buck expected Steve's expression to be upset but surprised when he realized that Cap looked content more than disappointed. "It looks really nice."

"I wanted to tell you myself." Buck replied feeling guilty that he hadn't kept his oldest friend up to speed lately, both had been busy for the past two years. "I'm getting out Steve." Buck hung his head. "I've fought the fight and won my war. It's time for me to move on."

"Back to Romania?"

Buck nodded. "I thought you'd be upset that I wasn't going back to New York. Going back home will be good for me, the house is remote but has close neighbors and isn't too far from a small town and the city is only an hour drive away. Lots of woods for Tanzy to run around in." The way he made it all sound made Steve a little jealous. Made him think of what he could have had with Peggy years ago. "I've got a chance at normalcy Steve. I need to take it, I don't want to be fighting for the rest of my life." Back in the forties, all Steve wanted was to fight alongside Buck and now he had his first real chance. No one on the run or programmed, both of them free and ready. "I'm sorry if you're disappointed."

"Are you kidding?" Steve asked in disbelief, his hand resting on his friend's shoulder. "We survived our ordeals to find our purpose here in this new world. Mine is with the Avengers, with Natasha. You're meant to find what your purpose is out there with Paige. I want the best for you, my friends, you deserve that much and more."

Bucky smiled at Steve and his kind words. "You have a future with Natasha. Make sure you don't have any regrets." Steve knew what his comrade meant by all that, not to be the constant soldier but maybe someday a husband or perhaps even a father. He is more than the rank he carries, more than a shield, both knew this. "Who knows, maybe someday when we're ready we'll have kids and tell them what we did here to give them a beautiful and bright future." Bucky had always talked about having kids after the war, had always had an idea of what he wanted his future to be like. Steve hadn't given his future much thought at times until he started his relationship with Natasha. That lack of planning had given him some regret, but the idea of finally settling down with children felt right to him.

"Maybe someday we will. I like the sound of that."

Natasha, Paige, and Sam arrived hot on their heels. "Hey." Steve smiled at her, happy to see her beautiful face. "Everyone's moving into position."

"Cities almost completely evacuated." Sam added

"Which is why Shuri asked me to give you all these." One by one the Doctor handed each of them a two-way ear radio. There was going to be a lot of commotion, so communication was key.

"What are you still doing here?" Buck asked in disbelief. "Why aren't you on the jet?"

"Slight change of plans. Shuri's gonna need help with Vision. I can't leave yet." The white Wolfs heart pounded in his chest. There couldn't be a worse place for Paige to be. She should be back in Romania. With Nakia in the US and far away from this horror.

"You are all risking your lives for our home, I have no reason to do anything less." To Bucky that sounded all too familiar. Reminding him of a scrawny kid from Brooklyn who just wanted to play his part and fight a war.

"You've been influencing her, haven't you?" He glared over at Rogers with a smirk. The idea of arguing with Conrad seemed pointless and Barnes figured that as long as she remained in the palace she would be safe from harm. "Please be careful." He breathed, hugging her as the transports arrived with the heavily armed Kings Guard. They stood proud and ready to go to battle.

"Me, are you kidding?" Paige was speechless. Even with everything that was about to happen James was about to go back into the fight, something he swore to never do again and he was more concerned of the little danger that she was placed in.

"I'll be fine."

"You better." Paige replied quickly fighting back tears for her new family. "You better all come back home." She commanded to the Avengers. "And when you do we're having drinks at the new house." It was naïve of the doctor to trick herself into thinking that everyone would come home when the sun would set, but hope was in her soul and she refused to let it die. "I'll be right here." The time had then come to finish their goodbyes, for how long it would be until this was over none of them knew. Thanos wasn't going to go down without a very violent fight, they all knew what had to be done and knew what was at stake. If they failed half the universe would fade from existence while the other had to suffer under a mad tyrant's rule. Unity was called for and the war drums were sounding, the whole world wouldn't be watching, but would knew for generations of what was about to take place. The war that would change everything.


	8. A Conqueror of the Innocent

Zen-Whoberi

It was as if the Gods had sent their fury upon the people of Zen- Whoberi. Fire rained on their homes and killed their kin. Never before had the planet faced invasion Zehoberei's were a fighting people but never sought out war. Those who came to conquer had made quick work of the military, whipping them out in an instance. As the streets flooded with screaming citizens, scrambling to find shelter and hide, praying that they would not be found. "Shhh." A mother spoke calmingly to her small daughter as she rested quivering in her arms. "We'll be safe." The frightening sounds from outside shook the ground, seemed to make the entire tremble in fear. In the history of the planet never had it ever been invaded by outsiders, but in these troubled times of life, anything is possible. The air reeked of smoke and ash from the homes that burned from the chaos. Zen-Whoberi wasn't perfect but had never deserved this kind of destruction.

"Mother!" A little girl called out in distress as she was pulled aside by one of the invaders. His grip on her was strong. Her people were screaming as they were gathered up like wild animals, crying out for mercy.

They were relentless, strong-willed. "Choose a side or die." One of the invaders spoke. He looked in a position of power, he held no weapon like the reaming soldiers.

"Mother!" The tiny girl cried again into the chaotic crowd not even realizing how muted her cries were.

"One side, for reservation. The other, an honor." What was this, what did they mean? She may be young but even she knew honor and reservation meant. These invaders had no honor in their blood, attacking the innocent. Why wouldn't they just leave? The young child's eyes burned like fire as she continued to break away from her handler who finally did release her. The small girl then met eyes with who she could only assume was the monster who had declared war on her people.

"What's wrong, little one?" He asked kindly as he knelt down to meet her eyes. He was massive compared to her, his eyes commanded and demanded authority. It was rather frightening.

"My mother. Where is my mother?" She was trembling. Felt as though she would fall over.

His lips curled with interest in the young girl. Her defiance and fire were truly remarkable for her age. "What's your name?"

"Gamora." She wasn't hesitant to tell him. With further proved to impress the Titan.

"You're quite the fighter, Gamora." The huge figure outstretched his hand for Gamora to take. "Come, let me help you." Her fragile fingers could have so easily crushed in the Titans grip, but he was gentle as he brought her peoples religious alter. He took her from the crowd, from the chaos to bring her to this small spot of peace and safety. But why, what value did she serve? "Look." Gamoras young eyes looked down to the small object in the Titans hand. A beautiful double-bladed dagger, embedded with red jewels into its glissading silver handle. "Pretty, isn't it?" Gamoras people often rejected material possessions such as these to make room for more realistic endeavors. It had to be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. Perfectly balanced. As all things should be." "Too much to one side, or the other... Here." He graciously handed the device to her with such care. "You try."

"Now go in peace and meet your maker." It horrified her when she hears the shot and then the screams that followed. It was horrifying, bone-chilling. In her young age had she never experienced such an event

"Concentrate." The titan spoke softly to the child when he turned he turned her head away from the massacre. "There! You've got it." He gazed upon her with such pride in his smile, it made her uneasy.

Gamora only looked up to him, her eyes filled with water. "Why?" She whimpered while her body trembled in his presence. He only continued to smile when he took her by the hand again to lead her away.

"Balance, little one." Was all he said. She didn't resist him when he took her aboard his ship and away from her home, she was too heartbroken to do anything. Her fmily, friends, her people suffering from an unacceptable loss. She knows the definition of balance, but what could this mad Titan perceive as balance by killing innocence on such a scale that he had? She didn't understand any of it. "You have so much to offer the galaxy." The Titan said, picking up the small child in his arm. The throne he brought Gamora to frightened her deeply. "And one day you will carry out your own order upon it."

"How?" Her curiosity was adorable to him. Gamora had never been in space before, had never left the planet before in her life until now.

Thanos had plans for this girl, plans that would shape a prosperous future for her. "Something your people lacked was the proper encouragement of potential." He remained kind to her when he sat upon the throne with her still on his lap. It reminded her of what her own father would often do with her. The love in her father's eyes could never be unmistaken. But this conquerors eyes were much more difficult to read. "With my guidance, I can shape you into something the universe has never seen before." Gamora hated like the way he called her a thing, it felt unnatural and wrong. "something the universe very much needs to thrive."

"I don't understand."

The Titan only nodded in understanding to her. She was only a child after all "Soon you will little one. I promise you." She wanted no promises made from him, she wanted nothing to do with him. The tears formed in her eyes once again. she wanted to return home, go back to her life and perhaps regain some remnants if possible. The ship was dark and cold, devoid of color like death. This dismal place was now her new home, her prison, and destiny. That thought alone made Gamora realize and later accept the end of the happy existence she once had.


	9. Let's go to War

KNOWHERE

The idea of an Infinity Stone being kept on such a place as Knowhere was beyond idiotic. Or perhaps ingenious because it could have very well been the last place that any individual would think to look. There was no heavily fortified sanctum for it to be safe. But Gamora wanted to ensure that the stone remained out of her father's hands for good

"Why?" His voice lowered deeply in astonishment. It brought back painful memories to when she had asked him the same question all those years ago on her home planet

She didn't understand why she wept. Why she showed such despair before his lifeless corpse. Her heart ached as she continued to cry. Perhaps it was because that despite everything, every act the Titan had committed to her or to other perhaps there was a slight chance, a moment that she had cared for him. Because he had at times showed her that same compassion, he had shielded her from the treachery of the galaxy and had given her purpose, but now she stood thankful that his reckoning and blight was at an end….it almost felt too easy. "Is it sadness I sense in you, daughter? In my heart, I knew you still cared. No one ever knows for sure. Reality is often disappointing." He appeared before her to reveal the truth behind his deception, behind the act and illusion that he had played so well. "That is, it was. Now... Reality can be whatever I want." It was that moment when Gamora realized just how powerful her father had become. The Collectors showroom had peeled away to reveal its true form. Ash and fire engulfed the room which was vastly torn apart.

Her tone softened as she gazed up at him. "You knew I'd come." She should never have come. She should have gone with Rocket and Groot, at least she'd be safe. The hope that they would have arrived long before the tyrant

"I counted on it." The way he looked at her almost appeared to be hurt. Is it possible that his happiness to see her was entirely real? There's something we need to discuss, little one." But the young woman he no intent on speaking. She knew what he wanted from her. She drew her sword and thrashed it toward the monster, this time she would ensure his death for good.

"Let her go, Grimace!" It seemed ridiculous to insult the Titan with something so childish, but that was hardly the point. His weapon was drawn and ready to fire.

Gamoras tempered flared. Oh all the times for him to be an ass, now was certainly not the time. "Peter..." How she hated him in this single moment for revealing himself. He should have stayed out of it, it would have been better for the both of them.

"I told you to go right." He said harshly.

Gamora tone of voice became slightly irritated when he reminded her of the order she failed to fulfill. "Now... Really?"

"You let her go!" Peter demanded, squeezing the grip of his gun more tightly than before.

Thanos chuckled in amusement. "Ah, the boyfriend."

The boyfriend's teeth ground harshly to this title when the relationship was so much more. "Peters I like to think of myself more as a Titan-killing long-term booty call. Let her go."

"Peter..."

"Or I'm gonna blow that nut-sack of a chin right off your face!" He meant his threat wholeheartedly, so why were his hands shaking so much? Why did he suddenly feel so scared? Perhaps he wasn't in that much of a power position as he had assumed, he was greatly outmatched as long as the dickhead had that gauntlet secured on his hand.

Her gorgeous eyes saddened. "Not him." She spoke in desperation, her eyes filled with tears and looked just as red as the flamed tips of her hair that was beautifully enhanced by the flames that surrounded them. "You promised!" Her voice was so desperate that it made Peters' heartache. "You promised." She sounded like an infant, but reluctantly her lover did as he was told and lowered the gun on her. A sigh of relief rushed over her in that instant.

"Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him." Gamora knew in her heart that was the case. There was no way that Peter would do this one thing for her. "She's asked, hasn't she?" Thanos cocked his head in intrigue. Now Peter was the one who could see the red in her eyes, the pain and loss that had been growing from years of harmful affliction. "Do it!" Peter didn't take his eyes off Gamora. Small cries where caught in her throat when he pushed her closer to the weapon that was already drawn on her.

"I told you to go right!" Now he was the one who was angry towards Gamoras decisions. How could she have completely disregarded what he said, had she really wanted to end her father that badly that she would have gone off alone?

Her heart fluttered when his eyes rested on hers. She was trembling just as much as he was. She hated herself for asking him to do this, to take her life. "I love you, more than anything."

I love you, too." He closed his eye as tightly as he could and then pulled the trigger. Only to quickly realize that no audible blast came from the barrel instead only an array of bubbles left the nozzle. Confusion and overall relief rushed over the lovers

"I like you." Air failed to leave Peter's lungs when Thanos disappeared with Gamora in hand. Why would he say that? "I like you." It must have been because despite not wanting to Peter still pulled the trigger. Peter had the balls to pay a sacrifice that he would have once assumed would have been impossible. All that remained of Gamora was her now broken sword which Peter held onto as though it were the only lifeline he had left.

Wakanda

It wasn't long until the entire Wakandan militia began to mobilize towards the kingdoms outer borders. The looks of stern soldiers on the transports were very familiar to Steve and Buck. War is calling them all now and there is no refusing that call, not with what is at stake. The sun was high and beat down with its African heat. There had still been no activity from the monoliths, but the fear of what they contained inside them. The cost of them failing here was far too great, there was no room for error.

"This is insane." Wanda said. Her gaze had moved from Vision to look out onto the vast grasslands where her friends prepared for battle.

"Wakanda has not seen war for centuries," Shuri explained as she concentrated on her work with Paige. "I hoped it would never come again." The young princess and the doctors only experience with any form of warfare had been when Kilmonger had bloodied the nation's planes not so long ago. And now Wakanda would be the final arena to determine the fate of the entire known universe. That thought alone was unimaginable. What does one talk about in a situation such as this? But there was a chance, there was an opportunity present and they'd be damned if they didn't take it.

"We all just need to succeed," Paige said confidently, looking over the data with Shuri. Her quaking fingers shifted through the boy like hair on the back of her scalp. In case of any mishaps, the young princess had supplied the doctor with a bulletproof vest that she wore over a deep teal microfiber shirt. A small firearm rested in a holster on her hip, a gift from Romanoff.

"Oh, is that all?" Every head in the lab turned up to see Sigrun. She did not wear her Valkyrie armor, nor hold her sword in hand. Instead, the grief-stricken warrior worse simple clothes provided by the royal staff. She appeared to them pale as if she were sick. Val looked out to planes, her skin crawling and heart pounding at an uncomfortable pace.

Wandas trembling increased as she gazed up to the Valkyrie. "You don't believe they can do it?"

The woman scoffed for a moment. "What I think won't matter little girl." The Valkyrie shuddered in response to the witch. "None of you saw him. Saw what he could do." She spoke softly, her heart beating faster and faster as she thought of her lost king and her people. Her mind than the thought of the Hulk and how the murderous Titan had changed her own idea of the strongest brute she knew. "I will stay to ensure you succeed." Sigrun couldn't bring herself to stand with the others.

Rhodey was flying low with Sam, leading the charge. "I got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line." The two of them were pivotal as the eyes in the sky while Shuri and Paige could analyze the conflict on the battlefield.

"Communications should be working fine, brother." Shuri spoke through the open comm channel. "Can everyone hear me?"

"Loud a clear, little sister." T'Challa replied long with the others. The Border Tribe, as well as the Jabari, had laid out their forces into its designated squadrons. M'Baku and his people were more than ready for a fight to commence. To show their loyalty and elegance to the throne. "Thank you for standing with us."

"Of course, brother." M'Baku smiled kindly to the King. The entire battalion seemed to be anxious, but all stood ready for what laid ahead of them. While they waited Natasha, Steve, and T'Challa went to give their enemies one last chance to lay down their arms and depart the Earth with peace.

"Where's your other friend?" Natasha asked cockily, noticing that they were one ugly mug short.

Proximas face soured toward the spy. Her eyes were lit with an intent to kill. "You will pay for his life with yours." She said coldly, eyes narrowed. Thanos will have that stone."

"That's not gonna happen." The stoic tone the Captain presented in retaliation impressed the two remaining generals. Steve wasn't going to let Proxima get anywhere near Natasha or the stone.

"You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust, and blood."

The King's declaration didn't appear to be much of a threat to the generals. "We, have blood to spare." With the thrust of her sword into the air, the dormant monoliths came to life releasing their savage troops onto the battlefield

"They surrender?" Buck knew he was setting his hopes too high for any chance of a withdrawal. He was sick of conflict, sick and tired of war. Once this was all over he could finally rest for good.

Steve sighed deeply, feeling sorry to disappoint his long-life friend. "Not exactly." The Generals had not come all this way to fail their father. They would not stand down from idle threats. The moment was so close at hand now, war is here.

T'Challa took his place before this grand army of heroes, this battalion of greatness. "Yibambe!"

"Yibambe!"

"Yibambe!"

The arena had been made and the troops stood ready. The time came to make the first move. It felt as though the earth would shatter at any moment, just from the presence of it all. "What the hell?" Barnes stood in astonishment when the outskirts filled with savage mutt looking like creatures. Their skin was ink black, teeth razor sharp, no eyes they were only wild maulers. Everyone seemed to all step back for a moment when the maulers came against the force field, it did well to hold them back as the herd grew in numbers as they collided with the shield.

"Looks like we pissed her off." That much was for certain. There must have been thousands of them. They were beyond outnumbered.

The shield was doing well to keep them in the outlands, only a few made it through every so often but were often killed from severe burns due to forcing themselves through the barrier. "They're killing themselves." Okoye wasn't wrong, but the mongrels didn't appear to care, they were mindless beasts only interested on killing.

Sam narrowly managed to escape the clutches of a few mongrels who had managed to painfully force their way through the shield. The Boarder tribe took their defensive positions and with the skilled assistance of sharpshooter Barnes and a just getting used to the hulkbuster Armor Banner they were able to push back the ravenous beasts. So far, the shield was holding perfectly "See the teeth on those things?" The Dora who had been stationed to defend Shuris lab maned the palace defensive. "How many you guys seeing out there, Paige?"

"Too many and more are on the way." The sensory devices placed in the outlands of Wakanda were blowing up with all kinds of movement, overcrowded with so much. But perhaps the mongrels weren't as mindless as believed, if they were anything like wild animals, then they all hunted in packs and knew how to secure and kill their prey.

"Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us, there's nothing between them and Vision." Everyone instantly picked up on what Wilson was getting at. The mongrels were already beginning to swarm around the shield. Soon the beasts would be swarming through the city streets and would only have taken them a few minutes to track down their target and kill anyone in their path.

"We can keep them at bay for now, but not for long." Shuri informed through the comm link.

"Then we better keep them in front of us." Steve said this as if he already had an idea in mind

"How do we do that?"

"We open the barrier," T'Challa replied in answer to the Spies question. It was as if the King and Captain Rogers were sharing the same insane idea that would undoubtedly work. "On my signal, open northwest section 17."

Shuri was speechless for a moment when she heard her brother's words. "Requesting confirmation, my King. You said open the barrier?"

"Are you sure, your Majesty?" Paige asked making sure her question didn't sound, she was sure that the palace defenses could hold of the mongrels. Opening the shield would release the onslaught onto the group and they would be swarmed in an instant, but something told her that they all already knew that.

"On my signal." The King repeated without any hesitation. T'Challa thought of Nakia and Addo praying that the two of them were safe. But now his mind could not wander, it had to be focused here.

"This will be the end of Wakanda." M'Baku spoke shakenly.

That was only partly true. Wakanda was the arena for this war, but if they were to lose it would be the end of everyone in the galaxy. Okoye spoke with strength in her voice, addressing the chief. "Then it will be the noblest ending in history."

"Don't leave my side," Steve whispered to Natasha. She nodded to him, her eyes focused in on the enemy. The captain turned to his war-torn friend. "Never wanted to fight another war."

Buck gave a much-needed laugh. "Gonna have a wonderful retirement after all this."

The Border Tribe parted for their King to take his place before them. His face didn't flinch when he called out his nations mantra, knowing full well that it would not be for the last time. "Wakanda forever!"

"Wakanda forever!"

It was kind of funny. The outside world had no idea of what was going to take place here. As they ran it felt like every heart beat as one singular unit. The war was now in effect, the mission was clear. All that mattered now was victory at any cost. They all ran with the entire universe on their shoulders, but none had to carry the weight alone, they stood together until the end. The time had come, it's time to go to war.


	10. The Love of a Father

Vormir

The surface of Vormir reminded Gamora too much of the dark halls of the Sanctuary, cold and lifeless. Vormir wasn't habited by any intelligent form of life, very few known species in the galaxy could survive conditions like these. Gamora was defenseless against any of the Vorms, lizard-like creatures that swarmed the planet. They could absorb a planet's energy, turning it into a cold wasteland for them to live. Gamoras eyes looked to the sky where the planets sun was almost completely engulfed by its moon. A massive obelisk seemed to almost touch the sky, that's where the stone would be held. "The Stone had better be up there. For your sister's sake." Her stomach twisted tightly as they began the climb. Thanos made sure his daughter stayed close to him, mainly because if she had the intent to run away he could easily retriever her or if she slipped. It was a long way down after all. The climb had brought them to archway above an outstretched altar. The stone floor was carved out with religious texts, most likely by worshipers.

"Welcome, Thanos, son of Eros. Gamora, daughter of Thanos." The voices startled her. Both of them were expecting the obelisk to be abandoned, who would possibly be guarding it.

"I'm not his daughter," Gamora muttered to the figure. "I had a real one once."

Thanos stepped forward, keeping Gamora behind him and silencing her. "You know us?" The way the figure spoke it felt as though he was lost, a wandering soul with no way sense of humanity. Someone who had once seen true power, but no longer sought after it.

"It is my curse to know all who journey here." He sounded so lonely, Gamora almost felt pity for him.

Thanos was tired of wasting time with this watcher. He turned the focus back to his intent. "Where is the Soul Stone?"

"You should know, it extracts a terrible price." There was that tone again, that sense of warning, almost pleading.

But Thanos thought nothing of it, he welcomed the challenge with open arms. "I am prepared."

"We all think that at first. We are all wrong." This creature didn't appear like any known species that was familiar to Thanos and Gamora. He was humanoid, his skin appeared to be nonexistent.

He guided them to the altar. Welcoming them to the domain he watches over for what must have been centuries from the way he spoke. "How is it you know this place so well?"

"A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones. I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out. Banished me here. Guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess." In all her life Gamora had not known of anyone else besides herself and her fellow guardians and father of who could hold an infinity stone. "What you seek lies in front of you. As does what you fear." He outstretched his phantom hand ahead of him and down below.

"What's this?" Gamora asked in curiosity, gazing far down below them. The thought of a leap like that made her dizzy

"The price. Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it is, a certain wisdom."

Thanos was ready, he had been for so long. "Tell me what it needs."

"To ensure whoever possesses it understands its power... The Stone demands a sacrifice."

"Of what?"

"in order to take the Stone...You must lose that which you love. A soul, for a soul."

There was a pause, a single moment where Gamora actually took the time to laugh at this news. Her entire being became overjoyed with this revelation that she would have gotten on her knees and thanked her father for his selfish nature. "All my life, I dreamed of a day...a moment...when you got what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But, now...You kill, and torture, and you call it mercy. The Universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize and it told you, no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing….No one!" He slowly turned to her. His eyes saddened on her as tears formed. Gamora scoffed for a moment almost out of sympathy, but at the same time only saw a pathetic and weak child. "Really?... Tears?"

"They are not for him."

Gamoras head snapped toward the figure than back to her captor. The sudden awareness of why the tears were there swam into her mind to see the truth and the intent. "No." She spat, eyes blaring on him in anger. "This isn't love." Her heart raced as she backed from his massive form. She was in complete denial that he had the capacity inside his blackened heart to feel anything towards her let alone love.

"I ignored my destiny once." He looks down to her with such sternness in his eyes. "I cannot do that again. Even for you." Her eyes were broken, shattered as her mind raced as fast as her heart raced and body trembled. The universe had not told him no, instead, it had given him a door and all that was required was to open it. "I'm sorry, little one." Everything slowed to a crawl when Gamora felt her fathers vice grip around her arm. The feeling of shame grew in the assassin, not because she cried out for herself and the fear of death, but because she had not done more to make him hate her. If she had he would not be able to use her to end the galaxy, all of this could have been avoided. Gamoras feet slid across the ground as she once again found herself struggling to pull away.

"No!" She screamed. "I am not yours to love!" The thought of begging for her own life was never Gamoras intent instead she was pleading for life for all of life. "I am not yours!" The young woman's fight was destined to fail when the solid surface beneath her was sept away and gravity took its hold. Gamoras heart jumped when she felt that single moment when everything stood still before plummeting. Screams filled her lungs until the falling had stopped and everything became still again. Tiredness was seeping into her as if she was merely falling asleep. She tried to calm her pain by simply lying to herself. It was time to rest, time to sleep, tear-filled Gamoras eyes as she lied motionless, unable to feel anything. She didn't want her last moments of sight to be thinking about how she had failed the universe. Instead, she thought of the love she had for the galaxy and those in her life. She felt sorry that she would never see her friends again, would never see the stars and would never….. "peter"… She had failed. Thanos now possessed another piece of his gauntlet and now was one step closer because of her. It wasn't long before the numbness had completely taken over and the world faded away.


	11. Before I Go

New York

Being a master of the mystic arts had led Stephen Strange down a path that had let him bear witness to countless wonders, both captivating as well as treacherous. But in these brief years of exploration and discover Dormomu had been the only foe Stephen had ever encountered that fell into that category. But from what his new associate had told him about this mad titan, this….Thanos was coming to not conquer the Earth, but rather reshape the entire universe. That big of a mission...there was no guarantee of success. If that were the case there was something Stephen had to do before he went to face this conflict. What was about to happen was too big, far too big to leave to one alone. This coming outcome was far from certain and Stephen feared greatly of looking forward to see it. He was petrified of knowing of what he might see.

"Christine?" He called once the portal he opened from the Sanctum closed with a spray of fiery sparks hitting the wood floor of his apartment. There was no sign of her in the kitchen, living room or balcony. Could she have been paged to the hospital? should he go and check? she could be anywhere in the city and-

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Relief came over strange when Christine emerged from the bedroom. She was wearing dark blue leggings, a long knitted sweater over a long undershirt, her hair pulled back while loose strands framed her face. She must have been reading, a small copy of the doors of perception stuck out of her sweater pocket. Sthpenen kept his composure calm when she placed a welcoming peck on his cheek."If you're free now maybe we could get some lunch. Try that shawarma place we saw last week?" Christine froze when she caught sight of Stephen. Strange had made it a habit of keeping his mystic arts duties separate from his relationship with Christine. Had been for the best to keep the two separate. Christine instantly took notice that something must be wrong if Stephen was showing up at their place dressed in his wizard robes. "What's going on, is everything ok?

Stephen worked quickly to hide his nerves as he took her hands in his. "Nothing." He reassured her, clutching her face in his trembling hands, but that had nothing to do with his concern it was just a natural part of him now. "I've just been feeling overwhelmed. I just need to take care of something else."

"Anything I need to worry about?"

Strange shot her a look."Hey, we agreed that we don't talk about work when we're off the clock"

"Gotta go protect the wizarding world?" Christine teased playfully. "And technically by the sound of it, you're still on the clock."

Strange played along with her. "Well someone's got to look after you muggels." They both laughed. Strange hugged her as though he may never again. He had faced countless threats before but none like this. Not one who was threatening so much. This Thanos whomever he is, is now officially threatening Strange's home along with the woman he loves. Action such as that needed to be met.

"What is it?" Christine chuckled when Stephen stared at her for a while.

His expression was just filled with gratefulness, all for her believing in and loving him. "There are so many marvels in this world." Stephen began, returning his hands to hold Christine's face. "But no matter what happens I'm always led back to you."

"Stephen-" Christine began, not wanting him to feel as alone as he sounded.

It was wrong to lie to Christine, but if this were to be his last moment with her, he wanted to remember her happy and faithful, not terrified and worried. Call it cruel, call it love, Strange knew what he was doing. "I just love you so much." Before she could reply the moment of silence between words was interrupted by doctor Palmers pager. Stephen didn't take his eyes off of her when she retrieved the device out of her sweater pocket.

"It's the hospital." The idea that Christine would be distracted by work for a while gave a sense of comfort to Strange. Her being kept busy wouldn't cause her to worry about him when there would be people relying on her. "I'm so sorry."

Stephen held her shoulders tightly, as if to show her the seriousness of what he said next. "You'll never have to apologize to me for the work we do."

"Same goes for you, Strange." Palmer beamed, thankful for how understanding he is.

"Need a lift?" The mystic arts master asked, pointing to his sling ring. Christine gave a nod, appreciating the nice advantages of her partners mystic powers. The opening of the gateway use to make Christine nervous as if the edges would burn her, but in time the fear faded. The method certainly beat New York public transit. "I'll see you tonight." Christine was far from aware of how much Stephen would be clinging to that promise. A promise that was also unaware of. The words carried the pain and love of a goodbye, something Stephen believed he'd never have to say to her.

"Work hard, Doctor Strange."

He smiled at her one last time, holding onto the voice that came with her words. "You as well, Doctor Palmer." Strange held his gaze on Christine until the portal closed behind her with an array of sparks that settled to the floor and he was left alone. His levitating companion didn't appear to agree with his choices of distancing Christine for the time being. Its demeanor made the that quite clear as it folded its corners across Stranges chest mimicking crossed arms.

"Don't you start with me." Strange sighed as he began to open another gateway and the cloak settled against him. "I've caused her enough pain."

"How did it go?" There was a concern in Wong's voice when Strange reentered the sanctum. He was certain his friend wouldn't understand, he had never had to say goodbye like that before.

"I couldn't tell her," Stephen replied when he looked down to the floor. "If I know that she's strong, it makes me strong." For the time being Stephen pulled his thoughts away from Christine and back to the universal threat soon to be knocking at their door. Banner had told them everything he knew and now it was time to assemble some much-needed help and the Avenger knew exactly who to call first.

You know, you'd think that the people of New York would have grown much more accustomed to strange alien….nah pretty much anything extraterrestrial and so on. At this point, New York should have some form of city-wide protocol for the citizens to follow. Peter Parker had found balancing his role as Spider-Man much easier with his friends Ned Leeds looking out for him. There were times when the excuses used to explain Peters sudden disappearances ranged from tolerable to downright disturbing, but they all got the job done. All the eyes on the bus were looking up to what may be invading their planet once again! Normally when Peter went off to do this job Ned was always filled with a rush of excitement being his friends' guy in the chair. But due to their current situation he was in no position to give any assistance, Peter was on his own.

Impulsively Ned reached for his phone. His heart skipping a beat with every ring he heard. Not since Vulture had anything major popped up, not to this scale. "Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon."

Relief filled his lungs when he hears Peter answer with a very winded sounding voice. "Hello?"

Ned and his classmates couldn't take their eyes off of the spinning UFO. They were miles away from where the action was taking place, safe from harm, but not Peter. Whatever was going on he was in the thick of it. "Peter, what is going on?"

His friend didn't reply at first all he could hear was Peter's voice straining which indicated that he must have been moving around a lot. "Uh...that's actually really hard to explain."

Possible alien invaders from the looks of the ship, how was that hard to explain? "Why?

"Cause I'm not so sure how to put it into words."

"Sum it up in one sentence."

"Ok...uh...aliens came in that flying doughnut to steal a necklace from a wizard…..I think."

"That's way too cryptic." From what it sounded like… as cryptic as it may be, Ned wouldn't be able to assist Peter. They guy in the chair is officially benched.

"That's the only answer I got. Mine is slightly abridged though." A serious of violent calamity ran through the phone speakers. Ned could only imagine what could be happening with his friend.

Light tremors shook the ground as the UFO began rising back into the atmosphere. "Whatever you're doing just have worked cause the ships leaving." Why was it leaving? That question was now top of the list next to why it was here to begin with.

"Yeah about that..."

"Peter...are you getting beamed up?"

"That's what I said!"

More and more questions began swarming through Ned's head. Such as why Peter was getting brought up with the ship. Had he been captured; did he even have back up? "Well...Where are you going."

"Not sure yet...not sure when I'll be back either...look I'm gonna need you to...bbzzzkkk...tell..mmaazzzzzzkk..."

"Peter...Pete, can you hear me?" There was no reply, but the reason as to why wasn't difficult to deduce. Peter must have been above 20 thousand feet and with his spotty phone losing a signal was practically guaranteed even if he 700 feet from the Earth's surface. Ned's heart sank once the ship completely vanished from view. It was impossible to see if Peter had gotten off, he had gone along for the ride and neither of them had no idea where. All he could do was wait and pray his friend made it back home in one piece.


	12. Battlegrounds

WAKANDA

War had not come just to Earth, had not just come to Wakanda. War had come to the entire universe, Earth and Wakanda were merely the battlegrounds. The catalyst for what would occur next whatever that could be. "Now!" T'Challa ordered to open the barrier. The young princess worked quickly to carry out her brother's orders. The mongrels come at them fast and hard. Bloodthirsty and relentless. Captain Roger led the charge alongside the Wakandan King to take the full force of the onslaught. A small ravine was set across the plains, blood quickly filled it after only seconds of fighting had commenced. There seemed to be no direct organization, laser fire, and bullets sprayed across the dirt and grass. Screams could be heard from both enemies and allies on both sides. The palace defenses guns were no longer of any use with all this mixed commotion they'd be as likely to kill anyone. Romanoff and Barnes were sure to preserve their munitions while fighting on the ground, it would only last for so long after all. Sam and Rhodey were sure to do the same while they kept their focus primarily on the breach working to limit the number of outriders pouring through the Outlands. Even Banner proved efficient with the Hulk Buster Armor. Every worst sound imaginable came flooding through every set of ears on that battlefield. "How much longer, Shuri?"

"We've barely begun, brother." Shuri replied clearly over the comms, the twitch of fear in her voice could not be misheard.

T'Challa had assured his sister time, but they could only do so much before they could become overwhelmed. "You might want to pick up the pace." Things became more intense. The mongrels were so savage as the swarmed the Avengers

The princess couldn't stop her shaking hands. It felt as though when one transfer would be dealt with another and another quickly replaced it. "This is taking too long." She groaned in frustration, her fingers trembling.

"Getting irritated won't help. Staying calm will." Paige spoke calmly, going over the brain waves to check for any anomalies. She had a much better chance of identifying them than Shuri. The doctor would warn the young genius whenever something would become unhinged. "Let's just take our time."

Sigrun wasn't sure what to think. She watched these two women work in such desperation but they refused to show it. She admired their determination, despite not having any form of superhuman abilities they were adamant about doing anything at all regardless of how small the task. They both would have made impressive Valkyries. Val eyes Dahme for a second, a Dora member who was keeping her watchful eyes on the Doctor and Princess. The Dora and the Valkyries in many respects would have made quite the team, with their dedication and fearlessness. Sigrun was happy to know that she would have comrades again. Her stomach twisted when she thought of the Avengers and how the events had unfolded so quickly, everything felt so frantic. The least the warrior could do was to protect these women until they achieved their goal.

It was absolute chaos on the Wakandan plains, but that seemed appropriate for the end of the world. Right from the start bodies began to drop. This came with the territory of war. It was easy to lose sight of anyone standing next to you. But those such as Okoye refused to leave the side of her King, keeping as many Outriders at bay as possible. The hideous foreign creatures were savage, tearing apart their prey with vicious hunger.

They moved so fast. Rabid and mindless. Natasha knew to be faster than her attackers. Her firearms gave her an advantage of distance. Firing only a few shots in critical spots of the Outriders. She had been counting every single shot she fired, keeping track of how many bullets she had left, making every single shot count. "Four, left, five right." Her thoughts echoed when she killed two more Outriders at opposite sides of her, their blood spraying the sand beneath them.

The spy didn't hesitate to assist a Dora member being dragged in the dirt by an Outrider. She cried out for help in her native tongue, trying to reach her disregarded weapon. The creature released its prey when Nat pulled herself onto its back and dug a knife she retrieved from her belt into the base of the beast's skull. Hearing the creature screeching made all other noises deafen. The more it lashed out the tighter Natasha held on, twisting the knife deeper. The air became immediately knocked out of her when she was thrown off. Nat knew she had to gather herself quickly, but everything was spinning. Her body was forced back to the ground when her left arm failed to support and lift her up. That told her that she had landed on it in a way that wasn't particularly favorable. The Spy drew her gun, ready to fire when another Outrider barreled towards her. She tried to focus her aim but her head was still spinning. Closer and closer it raced until the beast was met with the end of Okoyes spear through its skull. It lay only a few inches from Nat's feet, it twitched only once before becoming motionless. Natasha let out a breath, gazing up to her savior. Okoye didn't hesitate to help her friend back to her feet then handed the Spy her knife back. Nat rushed to the Dora Generals side and fired two more shots at another oncoming Outrider. The General gave a grateful smile then the two were back to work without another word.

Cap had to admit as useful and unique as his shield was, these Wakandin bracers were just as impressive. The downside being they were only useful for close quarters combat opposed to the shield being able to perform through both distance and close range. But if time had taught Steve anything it's that he has always been more than just a shield. The soldier kept his feet moving, making sure to distance himself when need be and strike when the moment was right.

Barnes quickly drew his knife, repeatedly stabbing an outrider that lunged on top of him. Blood splattered from the root of its mouth as its cries of pain signified its death. The gun was soon back in his hands locked, loaded and continuously firing. Rhodey cursed under his breath while keeping his heavy firepower concentrated on the breach, still working to limit the flooding of attackers making their way through, but it still wasn't enough. Even Sam was aware they were all beginning to slip back, it wasn't going to be long until the upper hand would be lost. There was no way to describe the chaos that only continued to grow in its madness. The hard impact had stuck Rhodes to the solid ground had completely dazed him. Whatever had hit him had come to fast to be identified, but now it meant that the shield breach is now unguarded, allowing the Outriders to flood through to overpower the opposition forces.

"There's too many of 'em!" Banner cried as he too became overwhelmed by a pack of Outriders, who were trying desperately to claw their way through the Hulkbuster casing. With the increased Outriders it wouldn't take much longer for them to slip into the city. They couldn't fail here, couldn't have come this far to watch is all comedown. Just then The entire sky lit up with an ethereal glow that shook the ground and sent the Outriders scattering in fear and rightfully so. Out of the light came a face that the Avengers feared they'd never see again. And with that face came a power shift in their favor. "You guys are so screwed now!" There wasn't a single hero on that battlefield that wasn't grinning with relief to see the long lost God of Thunder return...and with a raccoon and a walking tree by the looks of it.

"Bring me, Thanos!" Thor cried out, running in the direction of the breach. And just like that, the upper hand had been retaken. The advantage now came to them. Thunder rang through the sky with harsh intensity as lightning lit up the heavens and ground with beautiful illuminations.

TITAN

14,000,605 outcomes.

That's what Strange saw from tapping into the mind stone in order to see what lay ahead for them. He didn't believe something like that was possible, but yet he had witnessed it with his own eyes, every outcome more horrible than the last.

Titan, as he now knew it to be called was rather tragic in terms of appearance. Its ruins and atmosphere whispered stories of pain. Had anyone or anything ever once lived here? Or was this lifeless world a simple refugee for the lost things of the galaxy to settle and rest? A sense of calm rested within Strange as he sat upon a fallen staircase, that led to who knew what. He sat with only his thoughts and trembling hands. The weight of the stone around his neck seemed to slightly increase with each passing moment. In some ways, the Time Stone is very much alive and is now feeling the pull of its siblings drawing near. The weight in Stranges chest continued until...

"Oh, yeah. You're much more of a Thanos." At the same time, the Titan was nothing and yet everything that Strange had been expecting. What do you expect a man who is out to balance the universe to look like?

"I take it that Maw is dead?" His voice set shutters up Strange's spine, but he hid his nerves with a heavy nod of his head. "This day extracts a heavy toll." There was almost a touch of disappointment in his voice. "Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that." Strange spoke boldly. "He brought you face-to-face with a Master of the Mystic Arts." Thanos appeared almost impressed with the Wizards confidence. He would be a challenge to kill for sure when the time came.

Even when the Titan made his way closer Strange continued to hold is ground. "Where do you think he brought you?"

Honestly, it hadn't been very hard to deduce that question. What other significant value could this pace have? "Let me guess. Your home?"

The mad Titans smile was enough to tell Strange that his guess was correct. "It was." He smiled, how could he smile? The destruction of one's own home should be gutwrenching for anyone to return to and see in such a way. "And it was beautiful." The use of the reality stone helped to recreate that beauty with one motion. It was an impressive fabrication Strange had to admit that. "Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."

"Genocide?" Stranges voice indicated a tone of disbelief. Genocide was the only option Thanos saw? What could have been worse than that?

The Titan went on to explain."At random. Dispassionate, fair. The rich and poor alike." There he went again, trying to bring a shred of logic into his delusions of balance. "And they called me a madman. And what I predicted, came to pass." He hung his head. "It was too late...for anyone."

"Congratulations. You're a prophet."

"I'm a survivor." Thanos argued, his voice sterner than before.

Strange only shook his head. "A survivor who sees his survival as a gift to the universe. A survivor who wants to murder trillions?" One would think that witnessing the end of your world would humble you to the value of all life, but not him...not him.

"Murder?" His eyes narrowed with a twitch of confusion. "With all six Stones, I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist. I call that mercy."

"And then what?' Strange rose to his feet. "What will you do when you've saved us? What will you do as we descend into chaos?"

Once again his voice became somber. "I'd finally rest." Almost sounding regretful of what he knew he must do for the universe. "And watch the sunrise on a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills." Anger flared inside of Strange. Choice? When had this ever been a choice who would choose this outcome that would affect everything and to have it all come down to one person to decide the fate of others?

"I think you'll find our will equal to yours."

"Our?" That was the moments to strike. He hadn't been expecting it and hadn't noticed when Tony had moved into action.

"Piece of cake, Quill." Stark smiled at his good work momentary disabling Thanos.

"Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off!" Quill responded, both he and Tony knowing that one shot hadn't killed the Titan.

"Next time be more specific when you say "distract him" This is your plan after all." Quill hadn't been wrong about pissing off the Titan his raged mixed with the power of three of the infinity stones proved that much. The power he held already was a formidable force to face off. Already bending reality to serve his needs. Strange was surprised to find that those realities could be made physical, not just hollow illusions. Thanos proved his skills as both a defensive and offensive fighter. The goal was to keep him busy performing one or the other so another attack could be given at either close or long range. After all, he couldn't keep track of all of them at once, in terms of numbers they had the advantage.

"Don't let him close his fist." Strange whispered to his cloak. Hoping that this would give them more of an edge the cloak took his master's orders, securing itself around the Titans gauntlet, using every fiber of its stitching to keep his fist open. With the gauntlet out of commission Strange sent Spider-Man into action, slinging open gateways for him to bob in and out to engage and confuse Thanos.

"Magic! More magic! Magic with a kick! Magic with a-" The young boys fun antics were cut short when Thanos managed to grab a hold of him. His powerful grip secured around the heroes neck, pinning him to the shattered planet surface.

"Insect." Thanos snarled, pinning the youth in his heavy grip.

"Te...technically," Peter gasped through the weight. "spiders are arachnids." But the Titan had no desire or interest in being politically correct, instead only sent Parker colliding with Strange. It was difficult to believe that if that massive a structure was dropped on the Titan, one small ship would do less than nothing. When in reality this was more a release for the pilot.

"Well, well." Thanos smiled with surprise in his voice to see his now heavily disowned daughter still alive.

"You should have killed me." Nebula snarled, wielding her electroshock baton.

"Would have been a waste of parts!" Thanos replied, continuing to show Nebula her value to him.

Words such as those painfully reminded Nebula of her hatred toward her adopted Father. She had given him everything he asked for without question and what was her reward for being such a good daughter? Nothing but abuse and contempt. Where's Gamora?" No answer was given all that was, was a painful shove into a nearby pile of wreckage.

Mantises heart ached, watching her friends fight from the safety of her hiding place. She had never been trained to handle a situation like this. She was far from a physical fighter, but Peter and the others were fully aware of that and assured Mantis of her value outside of physical strength, she had a part to play just as important as any of them. So for the good of the plan, she waited for her moment. Her thoughts drifted for only a moment thinking of Gamora, Groot and Rocket. The three that made them feel more like a unit. Her thoughts were pulled away from her swiftly when Strange opened a portal dropping her into position just as planned.

"Is he under? Don't let up."

Mantis had no intention to. "Be quick. He is very strong." Up until Ego, this had been the second time that Mantis had used her empathic abilities to this high a level. And this moment was taking everything she had just to maintain her empathic hold while everyone maintained their physical holds.

"Parker, help. Get over here. She can't hold him much longer. Let's go." With their combined efforts Peter was confident that the others could hold Thanos down while he ran to Mr. Starks aid.

Quill had to admit how underwhelmed he had been through this whole fight, had hardly even broken a sweat. "I thought you'd be harder to catch. For the record, this was my plan." Stark gave an unbeknownst eye roll toward the Guardians leader, though he had to admit he had gotten them this far, there were definitely worse plans. "Not so strong now, huh?" There was certainly a change of dominance when Peter came to eye level of Thanos. "Where's Gamora?"

"My Gamora!" The way he said it, it was so wrong. Acting as though he owned her as if he still had some hold over her despite her desire to leave him far behind her.

"Oh, bullshit!" Peter hissed, denying the Titans claim over his girl. "Where is she?"

Mantis gasped, her body trembling from struggling to maintain control. "He is in anguish."

"Good." Peter smiled. The mad man deserved nothing less than to suffer.

"He…" Pain filled tears filled Mantises enormous and expressive eyes. "He mourns." It was then that Mantis felt her heartbreak. Not just from the result of her overtaking the full force of Thanoses emotions but also that she fully understood what those emotions meant. The longer she held her powers over him the more Mantis became afraid that she may become physically ill. Never before had she ever felt a loss like this, never before had she lost a friend….a sister …. And now she's gone.

Drax strained against his efforts of holding Thanos down, not fully believing what Mantis was saying. "What does this monster have to mourn?"

It was then that Nebula was next to catch on. The pain Mantis displayed and the expression in the Titan said it all. "Gamora…He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone. She didn't."

Okay, Quill? You gotta cool it right now, understand? Don't. Don't engage. We almost got this off!

"Tell me she's lying."There was no way. He wouldnt….couldnt be THAT cruel to end the girl he had raised. Some part of him some very small almost non-existent piece of him that gave a damn in some way, shape or form. "Asshole! Tell me you didn't do it."

"I had to…" That was all he said. And yet somehow the regret and heartbreak were so apparent and real that it was terrifying to witness.

"No, you didn't." Quills lip quivered while his body turned cold. The weight of the entire universe then came over him. "No! No, you didn't!" With his rage unleashed Thanos regained his conscious long enough to incapacitate Mantis and retrieve the gauntlet. Disabling the remainder of his opponents was It was wrong Peter knew that in the depth of his soul. It was the last thing Gamora would have wanted him to do. But loss...this kind of loss he has gone through too many times, everything current, pressing and dangling by a thread were pushed aside for this one moment for him to act selfishly and he knew that he would regret it.


	13. Rarely a Rarity

WAKANDA

It was impossible for Wanda not to feel the pain and fear radiating from the mind stone. It hasn't lessened since vision had begun to feel it pulsating. She could only imagine what he was feeling. Valkyrie couldn't contain her smile. Despite the fact of her being so far away from the fight she knew who had arrived in that blinding beam of light from above and the powerful thunder and lightning that lit the skies. Her King lived and had made his way back to Earth.

"Careful with this next junction," Paige instructed Shuri calmly.

"Like sewing a tarp together." Shuri gave a weak smile.

"Exactly." With a process this intricate and sensitive there could be no shortcuts to speed up the work. One wrong step could set back dozens of patterns already sewn together. The task was certainly a challenge. A combination of advanced technology and outer space wasn't something covered in Conrad's neuroscience courses in college. But with help from Shuri the Doctor gained her confidence around getting the hang of it, she just needed to find a different way if understanding the material.

"How much longer?" Wanda asked anxiously.

Shuri had just begun bridging another stream. "Too early to tell." She replied, not taking kindly to being rushed.

"It's gonna be ok honey." Paige assured Wanda while she went over her own data flow on her tablet.

Since Thor's arrival, the shield breach now had a better line of defense. Outriders were now beginning to back off. Rocket had been more than anxious to get into the fighting. His trigger happy nature had just set in as he rifled mowed down Outriders. "Come and get some, face-dogs!" His Sp-C/51 long range rifle had been in development for over a month, this was its first test run and it was going beautifully. Rocket held his ground when a wave of new targets rushed toward him. He was then caught by surprise when he was suddenly picked up in the air by a nearby human who was packing a pretty impressive firearm. The Human kept firing with his free hand while Rocket continued his spot on marksmanship as the pair rotated together, taking down an array of Outriders about to overwhelm them. "How much for the gun?" The fuzzy creature asked the Ex-Asset once his feet were back on the ground.

"Not for sale." Barnes replied, firing a few more shots.

"Okay, how much for the arm?" Honestly, Barnes could have taken a moment to point out the oddity of seeing an English speaking raccoon holding a firearm as big as himself. But instead only gave the animal a stern look then walked off. "Oh, I'll get that arm." Rocket snickered, reloading his gun.

Elsewhere Thor made his way to Captain Rogers, fighting back to back with him as they had countless times before. "New haircut?" Steve asked Thor, taking a moment to catch his breath along with catch up.

"I notice you've copied my beard." Steve had to admit he always wondered if he could pull it off. An unusual feature for him so doubt but it helped greatly when one was trying to operate under the radar of the US Government.

The Soldier thrusts his gauntlet into another incoming Outrider. "So...how have ya been?" It may not be the best time to ask these personal questions, but it felt quite awkward not doing so.

"Honestly, I've been better." The God replied, sending a jolt of lighting through another Outrider.

"Yeah" Steve grunted, dodging an enemy before killing it. "Your Valkyrie friends told us, we'll need to talk once this is over."

Thor's ears picked up when his friend spoke. "Sigrun made it here." His voice rung with relief. She had completed the task he had given her, getting to his friends on Earth to warn them of Thanos. "Regardless, I am happy to see you all again, my friend." The feeling was very much mutual in that regard. "Oh, by the way, this is a friend of mine. A tree." The Captain turned to see a humanoid tree, much shorter than him, had impaled a set of Outriders.

"I am Groot!"

Steve motioned to himself. "I am Steve Rogers."

Back in Shuri's lab, an uneasiness settled in those in those present when they heard a powerful rumbling in the distance. "What is that?" Shuri asked, taking her eyes off her work for a moment to look around.

Valkyrie followed Wanda to the laboratory windows to gaze out at the landscape. "Please tell me that's more of your Kings thunder." Paige inquired, hopeful that the disturbance wasn't the result of enemy forces.

Sigrun narrowed her eyes to the distance. "I don't think so." Far in the forest of the outland where the treetops stood ablaze, the tall giants began to bend towards them, bowing their sturdy backs in reaction to...something. suddenly the wave broke through the forest, uprooting the ground, easily passing through the force fiend and emerging from the surface a series of massive machines at least ten feet high that begin tearing up all that lay beneath them with their razor teeth. T'Challa called for his forces to fall back. Praying that some could get away before they were torn to shreds. "My Gods." Valkyrie exclaimed in disbelief to the monstrous mechanisms.

Wanda glanced at Vision again, her heart pounding, her face filled with concern. "Wanda." Vision murdered, taking her hand in his when she returned to his side. "They need you." Wanda's eyes pierced shut, squeezing Visions hand as tightly as her little ones could.

"I know." Vision gave the woman he loved a look filled with pure love for her. Wanda's lips pressed against Visions hand one more time before her touch slinked away from his when she turned to leave. The woman paused when coming face to face with Valkyrie. "Keep them safe."

The warrior placed her hand over her heart. "I will." Her voice beamed with that promise. Wanda gave her, Paige and Shuri one last smile before leaving the lab to join the fight.

"Focus all fire on the left flank, Sam." Falcon and War Machines efforts of trying to slow down the Thrashers were met with no sign of positive results.

"I'm doing it." Bullets were incapable of piercing through the hard casing. Rhodes fired off a set of flares in an effort to try and decrease the speed with the impacts but ended up having to scatter before he became trampled under the mechanism.

On the battlefield, Widow and Okoye caught sight of what was racing toward them and there wasn't time to run. Instead, the woman bravely braced themselves for the impact. Suddenly Wanda appears in the nick of time before them. Performing great feats with her powers to lift the machines up and over her comrades. Then crashing the Threshers back into the ground, plowing through herds of remaining outriders "Why was she up there all this time?" Okoye asked, standing in amazement.

A ways from the battlefield Proxima looked over she spoke through her com channel to her husband. "She's on the field. Take it."

Corvus Glaive skulked through the palace, letting the energy radiating from the time stone guide him to his target. The palace had been easy for him to infiltrate due to minimum security and a device that allowed him to pass through the shield barrier undetected. There were a few targets between him and his objective. The armed warriors fell very easily and caught completely off guard by Corvus. Their cries echoed through the room and alerted Shuri and Conrad, their eyes grew in fear as they picked up their pace. Ayo rushes Corvus, but her efforts were thwarted by the alien General who knocked both Shuri and Ayo off the upper level.

Sigrun would not let this monstrous creature get anywhere near them. This Princess and Doctor were risking their lives to help in this crisis and they had no unique traits of strength or combat to speak of. Val remembered how for King head spoken of the courage that humans possess she just never imagined that it would be like this.

Paige rushed to Shuri's side while Valkyrie engaged with Corvus. He's big so she was careful not to let him overpower her. Her lesser size allowed enabled her to move faster than him. Val dodged Corvus glaive, securing her hands around the staff and using her strength managed to force him onto the ground. She soon followed him when the Black Order General swept her legs out from under her. The warrior's head spun after colliding with a nearby wall as a result of Corvus hurling her across the room, he rose his blade to her, ready to strike down the Valkyrie. His charge was quickly halted when Paige fired a round of 9mm in his direction.

She had taught herself self-defense, the Dora and Romanoff taught her how to perfect it, but Barnes and Wilson taught her how to shoot. Shuri had managed to make it back to her workstation to continue. With Corvus momentarily distracted from her Sigrun managed to thrust her sword into his upper thigh. Engaging Corvus again Shuri and Paige knew they had to pick up the pace, but Sigrun also knew that she couldn't keep fighting Corvus in this confined space. The two women flinched every time the pairs blades clashed. The warrior kicked the Generals hand away when it had become too close to Vision. Her ankle became trapped in the killer's monstrous grasp and with one powerful motion, the Valkyrie was thrown out one of the many laboratory windows sending her falling and tumbling to the hard ground below. Shuri and Paige both froze in horror. Their best line of defense had just been defenestrated out of a twenty- story building. Corvus snickered as his hand reached out for Vision again. He was fast to retract the appendage when Conrad fired again at him. The General lunged up to the two of them, Conrad screamed when Corvus's massive hand grabbed her arm and dragged her to the open window. No doubt to throw the Doctor out as well following the Valkyrie. The Black Order General was met with resistance from Shuri using her panther gauntlets to draw his attention enough to release Paige from his grasp.

Corvus had now had enough of these two keeping him from his task. He skulked toward his prey the spirit riding against the ground the sound would make anyone quiver in fear. The girls pulled themselves from the floor in an effort to get away, Paige pushed Shuri behind her acting as a shield to ensure that Corvus reached her before the Princess. "Don't you touch her." Paige warned Corvus boldly. Both of them stood in disbelief when Vision suddenly tackled Corvus forcing both of them to fall out another nearby window similar to Valkyrie. The Doctor and Princess were then left alone with shattered glass and bruises

"What do we do now?" Shuri asked, fear blazing in her eyes. There was only one logical thing to do now, their patient is gone and there were wounded that need their assistance.

Paige gave a weak smile when Shuri helped her to her feet. "Come on." The Doctor led the young Princess to the injured soldiers tasked with keeping them safe, many of which were still alive. Once the wounded had been retrieved Shuri led the group to her sub level lab where they'd be safe or so they were hoping would be the case. But now without Vision, they currently had no role to play in the battle they were officially benched. "There has to be something else we can do." The group braced themselves when the structure shook. Shuri looked around the lab looking for something that she wasn't quite sure of yet.

Her face quickly became excitable when her brain come up with a solution. "There just might be." She led Conrad to one of her sand table interfaces. She used her Kimoyo beads to access the system. Within seconds the dark sands constructed into the console of a Wakanda Dragon Flyer, exactly like the one Everett Ross piloted. "Told you the flight training would come in handy." Paige grinned, climbing into the cockpit and taking the controls. Shuri wasn't far behind in her own console. The Flyers sprung to life and took off to the skies.

Back on the battlefield, the Avengers were made aware of the new developments fairly quick. "Guys, we got a Vision situation here." The wind was knocked right out of Wilson's lungs when he was tackled from the air and propelled to the hard ground. His left hand tried to reach for his gun while the other pushed back the mongrel's sharpened teeth. He cried out when the fangs pierced into his flesh.

"Sam!" Paige screamed through the com line, terrified to hear her best friends cries. The outrider gnawed and pulled at him with vicious efforts. Sam buried his face into the ground, his arms thrown over his head to protect it from the onslaught of sharp teeth coming at him. His ears were then filled with loud cries of pain along with close-range gunfire that tore into the creature's flesh. Sam groaned when he pushed a carcass off of him.

"You alright?" Barnes asked, outstretching his hand for Sam to take who was still trying to catch his breath. For the past two years had always been skeptical of Barnes. Since the entire fiasco with the accords and Barnes parts played in it had left a sour taste in his mouth. And yet it was difficult to hold his primarily accountable. He hadn't been himself. It was a rarity that Sam held grudges, it was a big factor of circumstance. But if Sam knew anything about Barnes at this moment it was that he's here to help, he had made his choice. So, he accepted the helping hand from the soldier without any resentful spite in his eyes.

"Thanks."

"You ok?" Barnes asked again, shooting down any Outriders that got close to them while Sam finished filling his lungs.

"Yeah." He replied, taking a moment to look around. "Hell of a day huh?" Both gave a chuckle. Paige would have been happy to see both her boys getting along. Wilson drew his gun before deploying Red Wing and activating it to find and protect Shuri and Paige.

"Somebody, get to Vision!" Cap ordered through the com line, his attention still focused on the battlefield.

Banner was the first to take the initiative. "I got him."

"On my way." Wanda quickly added. Her advance quickly squashed as the butt of Proximas weapon collided with her temple, causing her to tumble into a low trench. Her shook body attempted to crawl away but Proxima turned the young girl on her back to make their eyes meet.

"He'll die alone. As will you."

"She's not alone." A voice came from behind Proxima. The General slowly turned to face yellow-haired harlot who had mortally wounded her husband was standing in defense of the small child at her feet. Only a nod came from Okoye who stood behind Proxima and taking a defensive position signified that she had Natasha's back.

Proxima angrily rushed the spy, keeping her focus on her rather than the Dora General. She was no doubt looking for revenge on the yellow-haired witch for wounding her spouse. Natasha had to admit that the girl is a hard hitter. Her award bashing against her baton spear with such intense anger it drove Natasha back. Okoye blocked Proximas weapon with her own, preventing it from harming the spy. The three women ducked when a thrasher passed over their heads. Proxima thrusts her knee into Natasha's jaw, forcing the spy into the trench Okoye weaved around the Black Order General when Natasha blocked Proximas spear with her baton after she had recovered, finally managing to disarm her. Okoye advance, but Proxima is too quick, grabbing the Dora General by her throat the killer hurls her in the air. She then turns back to Natasha managing to force her down. Activating a long, sharp blade from her gauntlet Proxima thrusts in toward the spy who blocks the blade. Nat struggled against the massive woman whose wrist blade began inching its way further into her throat.

Nat was struggling to breathe as a result of Proximas knee painfully pinning her down by her abdomen. "Scream." Proxima hissed, applying more pressure, causing Romanoff to wince. But she refused to give her attacker the pleasure of watching her unfold, she has faced much worse. A sharp gasp left Natasha's lips the moment the pressure on her was released when Proxima was yanked harshly int a passing by thresher that instantly tore the warrior in half. The red vapor that had formed around her told Nat that Wanda had saved her just at the last minute yet again.

Whipping small drops of blue blood from her face the Spy sighed out of breath. "That was gross."

The Outriders were now running for their lives, seeking shelter within the massive Monoliths that had first dared to bring them all to Earth. The Wakanda Flyers were in hot pursuit of any stragglers. Rhodey covered Paige and Shuri's vessels when they came around, guiding them to their targets as he let loose on the Outriders.

"Griot, pinpoint the most vulnerable spots on the Monoliths." Shuri intrusted her AI when she and Conrad got into position to fire.

The disembodied voice replied. "The casing around the Monoliths is quite sturdy. Combined concentrated fire should be enough to crack through it." Targets lit up on the heads up display of the Flyers HUD.

Shuri turned to her friend. "You heard him."

Paige nodded. "Got it." The two snapped into action and the rest of the Dragon Flyers were not far behind them. One by one the monoliths lit up in a wonderful blaze. The ground forces cheered excitedly as they watched the display from a distance.

"Your Majesty," Griot announced. "we have intruders present."

"Shuri!" Paige called when she caught sight on an Outrider lurking its way down to them followed by a few others. Her eyes then met to the wounded guardsmen they had brought down with them. "Shit!" Paige cursed when she abandoned her Flyer resulting in it crashed into the Wakandan planes below. "You've got this." She told Shuri when she got to her feet to check on the others, she shielded a guardsman when the lab shook again from the chaos above. Removing her firearm from her hip, she reloaded, flipping a nearby desk over on its side to act as a barrier to shield her and the wounded she set herself up. The princess knew that she could trust Paige to watch her back. The princess continued her firing barrage on the Monoliths along with the rest of her squadron.

"Brother! Those things have made their way down the under levels, Conrad and I are defenseless down here." The Lab is filled with enough high-tech equipment of all sorts but none of which would keep the Outriders back for long.

"We're sending help your way!" The King responded, his vibranium claws tearing apart another Outrider. His heart weighed down that he couldn't rush to his sister's aid. But part of opening Wakanda to the world meant trusting others and this applied. M'Baku braced his Knobkerrie against an Outriders' teeth, twisting it back with one motion to break the creature's jaw.

Back in the deep forest Valkyries teeth gritted together, her blade grinding against Corvuses, the familiar taste of blood formed in her mouth. With Banner taking on Obsidian it was just her job to take down Corvus Glaive.

"If you hurt my friends, you'll pay." she growled through her teeth, eyes like daggers. Sigrun couldn't let her mind worry about Paige and Shuri now, her mind had to be focused here. Vision is still her responsibility to keep away from Crovuses and nothing would stop her. Her dragon fang blade glistened in the sun, blinding the General long enough for her to advance on him. His blade swept past her head but retracted fast against the Asgardians shoulder, she cried out in pain when the blade cut her. Her sword swung toward Corvus, blocking and thrusting, trying to get a hit in. Vision tired to help, but his wounds were slowing down over pulsation in his body. Every part of her was now screaming for release. Sigrun lunged toward Corvus again, sweeping her leg up to knocking him back, being sure to pull it back faster than last time when he had managed to get a hold of it. She twirled her blade and advanced, dodging the glaive fluidly. Both Valkyrie and Corvus were caught off guard when Captain Rogers charged in and tackled the Black Order General to the forest floor.

Cap then turned to Valkyrie. "Get back to Shuri and Paige!" The Captain ordered. The Valkyries face saddened when she thought of how she had also left the Doctor and Princess unguarded. Under different circumstances, the warrior would have argued with the Captain, but knew that there wasn't time and the man had proved himself to be more than capable in a fight. The warrior did as told, running off to the distance to secure her new objective. "Get outta here!" Cap shouted to Vision, urging him to get Soldier had to keep as much distance between Corvus and Vision as possible. His bracers sent sparks flying as their ground against the metal of Corvuses glaive which Cap was able to disarm from its user. Steve turned back to Vision who was still lying helpless on the ground. "Go!" He ordered again, urgency burning in his voice. Throwing a hard punch into the soldier's chest his dagger-like fingers pierced the soldier's neck, then slammed him against a fallen tree trunk the Soldier went tumbling to the ground. Steves mind raced as he tried to regain his senses, but his hesitation cost him. The Soldier strained heavily against Corvuses grip that was working fast to strangle the life out of him.

"So unique." Corvus hissed through his jagged teeth. "I suspect this is a rarity for your species." Steve's mind briefly thought back to every single person in this fight, contributing where they could no matter how small and regardless of the cost and risk of their own lives.

Steve gasped. "Not...as rare...as you think!" Corvus was about to reply when suddenly the blade of his blade struck through his chest causing him to release his grasp on the soldier. Vision raised the blade that now had its master mounted on it. Tossing them both aside Vision falls back to his knees, exhausted. "I thought I told you to go." Steve said, helping Vision back up."

Vision breathed heavily, then turning to his friend replied, "We don't trade lives, Captain.


End file.
